Aegis
by dierubikdie
Summary: An AU tale. Paranoia regarding the White Fang has boiled over. The new government has been exterminating terrorist bases for over three years, although most of the White Fang was wiped out in the first three months. Now, innocent faunus are getting swept up in the senseless raids. A few young fighters are doing what they can to help these faunus, but how long can they keep it up?
1. Duty (ARC 1: PAIN)

**ARC 1: PAIN**

* * *

Chapter 1: Duty

_What a cute little village,_ the beautiful young woman mused, strolling through the quaint town square. _I can see the appeal of living off the grid, out here in the middle of nowhere._ She glanced from beneath her hooded cape at a pair of young faunus boys with brightly colored hair, loitering outside a small wooden building with a green roof. They eyed her curiously, until she shot them a gorgeous smile that stretched from her perfect, white teeth all the way to her radiant eyes. As their prehensile tails curled up tightly behind them, the boys turned bright red and scampered away, giggling incessantly.

_How adorable._

Watching the children disappear around the street corner, her thoughts returning to the building with the green roof. She spent the next several minutes studying the unadorned storefront intensely. The gray wooden door, worn down by years of weather and limited maintenance, the bright green windowsills, matching the roof almost perfectly, the small awning above the doorway, supported by two narrow wooden posts- _ah, there it is._

Near the bottom of one of the posts - so subtle as to be nearly imperceptible - three scratch marks. Insignificant at first glance, but a bit too symmetrical to be a result of simple wear and tear.

She examined the seemingly innocent scratches for several seconds before wandering down the street a bit, away from the building which held her interest. After a few minutes, she began whispering to herself; to passers by, it would seem as if she were simply thinking out loud. However, her words were not for her alone.

"Excelsa, reporting in."

A minute or so later, the response came through her concealed earpiece; a young man's voice answered:

"You've got Cypress. Go ahead, Excelsa."

"I've located the building of interest. Intel was solid, there's definitely something here. I spotted the tag on the side of an awning post."

"Have you made contact with anyone inside?"

"Negative, per orders."

"Location?"

"It's a small wooden building near the town square; looks like some sort of shop. It's the only one in the area with a green roof. You can't miss it."

"Roger. Einir and Dù Sōng, how fast can you make your way to the town square?"

"I'm five minutes away." Another young man's voice, slightly deeper and very calm. "I'll be there in two."

"Copy that, Dù Sōng. Einir? Location?"

"..."

"Einir, what's your status?"

"...I'm here! I'm here! Sorry, I got distracted. I found a shop that sells homemade taffy!" A girl's voice this time, bubbling with giddy enthusiasm. "I mean… nothing to report here, boss. Town square? Sure. Right. I'm on my way now. I can be there in a flash, no problem!"

"Welcome back to the _mission_, Einir. Try to stay focused from here on in."

"Yessssir!"

"Alright, Excelsa, wait until we're all in position before making contact. Dù Sōng, find some higher ground and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Einir and I will position ourselves at either end of the street."

"Copy," came the unanimous reply.

Excelsa, as was her current callsign, began meandering back towards the building with the green roof, casually glancing in shop windows to stall for time. _Butcher. Carpenter. Blacksmith. Wow, this really is the quintessential 'quaint little village'. I could see myself settling down here._ She sighed to herself. _Well, not this particular village. It's a shame, really._

Just as she reached her destination, her squad leader reported in.

"Alright, Excelsa. We're all in position. Commence operations whenever you're ready. Signal us if you need support."

"Copy that, Cypress. Commencing operations."

* * *

As soon as Excelsa entered the building, her sense of smell was assaulted by a myriad of strange aromas. The softly-lit room was filled with the scents of various plants and spices, all vying for her attention at once. _It's a candle shop. Clever._ Any scents that may be left behind by those passing through this store would be completely overpowered by the odor of the candles. _Not even a faunus could make out any useful scents in this mess._ She made her way through the shelves of little wax obelisks towards the back corner of the shop, where she found a small counter. On the wall behind the counter hung a simple wooden sign.

**Tukson's Candle Shop - Every Scent Under the Sun**

_Cute._ She smiled as she rang the tarnished metal courtesy bell on the counter.

"Just a minute!" came the reply. A few seconds later, a tall, burly faunus entered the room through the doorway behind the counter. His thick sideburns extended all the way to the corners of his mouth, where they abruptly pointed upward, drawing attention to his piercing yellow eyes. "Welcome to Tukson's Candle Shop." As he spoke the rehearsed introduction, his eyes wandered over the woman's cape and hood, finally resting on her eyes. "We've got every scent under the sun."

She smiled brightly. "I don't doubt it, Mr. Tukson. I absolutely adore your little shop! So many wonderful smells! I'm particularly fond of that laurel candle near the front entrance; it reminds me of home. Did you make it from the actual plant?"

Tukson relaxed a bit at her inquiry. "Thank you, miss. And yes, all of our scents are one hundred percent natural. That's genuine bay laurel, all the way from Mistral."

"Not an easy plant to find in the wild. If I may ask, did you collect it yourself?" Her tone was one of genuine curiosity.

"Not exactly. I trade with some... traveling merchants who make their way here every couple of months. Those laurels actually cost me more lien than I'd like to admit." Excelsa noticed the slight hesitation in his speech, and the nervous giggle at the end of his response.

"Traveling merchants, huh? That's really neat! They must bring you all sorts of exotic things."

"Y-yes, they do. So, would you like to buy a few of those laurel candles? I was actually just about to close up shop, so..."

"No thank you, Mr. Tukson. Not today. Although, I was wondering, do you take special orders?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Wonderful! It may sound strange, but I've been searching for a very specific scent for a while now. It's even more rare than that splendid laurel you've got, and it's much stronger, too."

"What scent would that be?"

The young woman locked eyes with the bearlike man standing before her. Although her lips still smiled, her eyes betrayed a sense of avidity and focus she had not previously shown. Her response was clear and deliberate:

"_Juniper_."

The man's bright yellow eyes snapped open with realization upon hearing the word. Excelsa quietly observed every visible muscle in the man's body tense, as if he'd been struck by lightning. His mouth hung slightly agape, and the hair on his arms and neck stood on end. He stood, dumbfounded, for several seconds before managing to whisper out a strained response:

"I… I don't think we… I mean I… that's…"

"Surely your 'merchant' friends have come across it in their travels?" Her air quotes around the word "merchant" caused Tukson to flinch slightly. "Are you sure you don't have any in storage?"

Tukson's expression was slowly becoming more panicked. His eyes began to dart around the room, yet he never looked away from the young woman for more than a second. He was sweating.

"I'm really s-sorry, ma'am, but I d-don't think…"

"Oh come on, are you sure? What's wrong? Are you hiding it or something?"

"No, I…"

"Really? You're not hiding _anything_ from me?"

The faunus man's face froze, turning white as snow. Excelsa's piercing gaze fell upon his hands, where she saw the razor-sharp claws hidden in the tips of his fingers begin to slowly emerge. Her eyes once again met his.

"Mr. Tukson, do you know who I am?"

The man nodded his head slowly, in response.

"So you also know of my team, about our capabilities and our mission?"

Another nod.

"Splendid. So, I'll ask again, nicely: are you hiding something from me, Mr. Tukson?" Her tone sounded like that of a chastising parent asking her child if he'd stolen from the cookie jar, after he'd already been caught in the act. "Tell the truth, now"

After a very long minute with no visible response, the young woman's smile abruptly dropped, her expression becoming grave and impatient.

"Mr. Tukson, it's my duty to inform you that it is against the law to harbor fugitives from the Conclave, including members of the terrorist group known as the White Fang. If you were to be found breaking this law, the punishment for this offense would be death, to you, your accomplices, and those you are concealing. My team and I would be authorized to carry out this punishment at our own discretion, with whatever amount of force we deem necessary. Do you understand?"

"..."

"Mr. Tukson, do you understand?"

"...Yes."

"This will be the last time I ask. _Are you hiding something from me?_"

An eternity of seconds passed. The silence between them was deafening.

"I am."

"And will you cooperate with my team and I?"

She already knew the answer.

"I will not."

"...Then I am sorry."

In a flash, the faunus was airborne. In one swift, practiced sequence of motions, he leapt back, planting his clawed feet against the wall behind him, and then kicked hard, propelling himself at a dizzying speed towards his target, claws outstretched. As he performed this dangerous act of defiance, he roared, "_Damn the Conclave!_", his eyes glowing yellow with fury. He failed to notice the subtle movement of the woman's left arm under her cape, or to hear the quiet, mechanical sound of metal shifting into place.

At the same moment, the young woman dropped to her knees, leaning back as she fell. In the one second it took for her to fall to the ground, she reached her left arm across her chest, grabbing her cape near her right shoulder, and tore it away from her body. In the same second, her right arm shot upwards in a narrow arc, toward her assailant; in her hand was a double-edged short sword, blood red with shining gold trim. These three motions happened so quickly, they went unnoticed by the enraged faunus until far too late.

The force of the strike caused Tukson's body to rotate as it fell to the ground. The faunus landed on his back, the woman's sword lodged firmly in his chest. He lay sprawled on the floor, unmoving. The xiphos has not only pierced his heart, but had traveled clean through it, severing his spinal column.

The young woman righted herself, and quickly made her way to where Tukson lay gasping. She knelt by his side, taking his hand in her own. Her hood now discarded, deep red hair spilled forward over her shoulder, the ponytail nearly reaching her stomach. Her words were quiet, and tempered with melancholy.

"Know that there is honor in this death. I respect those who would die for their beliefs."

Tukson gasped in vain for air, his lungs and throat filling quickly with blood.

"I hope you find peace as your soul returns to Dust."

Unable to respond, the dying faunus looked into her vibrant green eyes, his expression pleading for some sort of relief.

Pyrrha obliged him.


	2. Refuge

Chapter 2: Refuge

The sky was clear, and Blake Belladonna was on the roof. It wasn't uncommon to see her up there, warming herself in the sun while she was reading or napping. She always kept a well-trained ear open for any visitors to her little bookstore downstairs, and would hop down to ground level whenever she was needed. Travelers from out of town usually thought her behavior was odd, but the locals found it endearing. _Of course_ she would nap in the sun, in as high a place as she could find – such were the nuances of a cat faunus. Some of the townspeople actually found it comforting to see her on the roof, as if she were keeping watch over them. These were the people who knew of Blake's abilities, and of her past.

On this day, Blake had ventured outdoors with no particular activity in mind. It was simply a nice day, and she wanted to be outside. She wore a bright purple tank top and simple white short shorts, starkly contrasting her wavy jet-black hair which nearly reached her hips. Wrapped tightly around her right wrist and forearm was a long black ribbon, an ever-present accessory no matter what outfit she wore. Her feet were bare, as was her head, save for two furry catlike ears, pointing to the sky.

She strolled leisurely across the roof. The sunlight played across her hair, occasionally shining through a small circular hole in her left cat-ear. The sun's warmth caused it to itch briefly, as it always did. She rubbed her fingers lightly over the scar, and closed her eyes, her right arm now hugging her narrow waist. Her face took on a calm, yet sorrowful expression as she began to sway back and forth slowly, still stroking her ear.

After a few minutes of silent swaying, her arms dropped to her sides. With practiced precision, she twitched her right hand slightly, loosening the ribbon around her wrist. She opened her eyes and watched as six feet of the ribbon drifted towards the roof, coiling neatly onto the flat surface. The rest was still wrapped around most of her forearm.

When she began moving her hand through the air, the loose ribbon followed its path exactly. She started by drawing a simple circle in the air, moving her hand clockwise until it met with the loose end of the ribbon, completing the circle. After a few seconds of this, she swept her arm upward in a much larger arc, creating a small gap in the circle. In one swift motion, she stepped through the opening and turned completely around, resuming the original rotation of the loop, but now in a counter-clockwise direction.

After another few seconds of precise circles, she began releasing more of the ribbon from around her wrist, until its length forced her to abandon the basic loops for more interesting shapes. Figure-eights, tight spirals, and tall sinusoidal waves took shape as the loose ribbon's length surpassed thirty feet, yet Blake's forearm was still almost completely wrapped with more black ribbon.

She had also abandoned her gentle swaying for more deliberate motions, moving around the entire roof in complex patterns, often veering dangerously close to the edge, only to leap back towards the center, beginning anew. As time passed, her movements became progressively swifter and more acrobatic. No longer a series of premeditated maneuvers, her actions were completely improvised, as if she were dancing to a chaotic waltz only she could hear. She created massive spirals and loops which intersected each other on multiple planes, and then bounded back through them just before they vanished. The loose length of ribbon had reached over seventy-five feet in length as it continued to perfectly trace her flights through the air, painting a fleeting picture of her motion in three dimensions.

The silent ballet continued in this manner for over thirty minutes, with no decrease in the speed or intensity of her movements.

And then, Blake suddenly stopped dancing.

In one moment, she was tumbling back and forth through the air, creating complex patterns at blinding speeds; in the next, she was kneeling on the edge of the roof, completely still, hers arms wrapped around her shoulders in a tight embrace. The ribbon came to a complete stop in mid-air, holding its shape for just a few moments, then began to drift downwards at a glacial pace until the entire form had fallen to the roof.

"Miss Blake?"

The voice startled Blake, as if she'd been woken from a trance. She stood on the edge of the roof and looked down into the street, where she saw two young boys with monkey-like tails staring up at her. They were twins, identical in every way except for the colors of their hair.

"Yes, Coral?" she responded.

The pink-haired boy who woke her from her trance had a wide-eyed look of worry on his face.

"Are... are you okay Miss Blake?"

Blake smiled at his concern.

"I believe so, yes. Why don't you both climb up here so I don't have to shout?"

"Okay!"

The boys wasted no time clambering up the side of Blake's shop. Coral's cyan-haired companion reached the roof a few seconds before Coral, proclaiming, "_I win! I win!_" He turned to Blake excitedly. "Did you see that, Miss Blake? I won!"

Amused, Blake answered, "I saw it, Beryl." She raised an eyebrow and added, "But it wasn't a race."

Beryl crossed his arms and huffed, "Well, if it was I would've _won_."

Coral reached the roof, and decided to ignore his brother's boasting. "Are you sure you're okay, Miss Blake?"

"I am perfectly fine, Coral. Is something worrying you?"

The shy boy lowered his head and said, "No ma'am. It's just... when you were dancing just now, you weren't really smiling. That's all."

"Yeah, I noticed that, too," Beryl chimed in. "You looked, like, sad and mad at the same time."

The boys' responses caught Blake off guard. She knew their auras were developing, but she didn't know they were capable of that level of perception. Not many people were quick enough to track her movements like these two young faunus had. Were their semblances beginning to manifest? "What's this?" she asked, pouting dramatically. "You boys are learning new tricks without my help? I'm hurt."

As the young brothers fumbled over themselves apologizing to her, Blake smiled and began to gather up the length of ribbon strewn about the roof, inspecting it carefully as she wrapped it back around her arm.

"Calm down, boys. It's really okay. I can't teach you everything, you know? There are some things you should discover on your own." She secured the last few feet of ribbon around her wrist. Her skin glistened with sweat. "Now, get downstairs and start punching each other until I come down. I need to wash up."

"Okay!" came the excited reply. They scrambled over the edge of the roof and made their way to street level. Of course, they weren't simply going to punch each other. It was an exercise meant to hone their aura skills. First, Coral would close his eyes, Beryl would try to hit him anywhere on his body, and Coral would try to use his aura to shield himself from the attack. Then they'd switch roles.

An expert aura user like Blake would be able to shield her entire body with ease, but her two young students were not yet skilled enough for that level of defense. Therefore, this exercise was more about using their other senses to predict an enemy's movements, and focusing their aura where it was needed. If Coral focused his aura in the correct place, then Beryl's attack would do no harm. If Coral predicted incorrectly, then Beryl's strike would connect. He would either learn from his success and improve his sense of awareness, or learn how to take a hit. Both were valuable skills.

Blake dropped down onto the small balcony overlooking the street and entered her second floor apartment. It was a simple setup, with basic necessities. She preferred to spend most of her time outdoors, so all she really needed was a bed, a bathroom, and a small kitchen.

She took a short shower to rinse off the sweat. After drying off, she put on a flowing, bright orange sun dress which hugged her chest and stomach tightly, and made her way downstairs, through the bookstore, and out the front door into the street. The two boys under her tutelage greeted her, both of them out of breath.

"Beryl cheated! He tried to drop kick me right in the chest!"

"You blocked it anyway, stop whining!"

Blake let this ribbing continue for a few minutes. It was normal for them; they were twins, after all. She intervened once their argument started to turn physical. "Alright, knock it off. You two are being more... _bitey_ than usual. Did something happen today?"

"Well..." Coral started, blushing. "Sorta. We were-"

"_Ahem_." The sound of a girl clearing her throat caught the three of them off guard. Blake turned around to find its source, and was startled to find a young woman's face staring at her from less than a foot away. "Excuse me, I'm sorry. Is this Blake's Books? Are _you_ Blake?" She was smiling intensely, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Reclaiming her personal space, Blake took a step back, quickly surveying the girl's appearance. She was wearing a long, gray hooded cape which covered most of her body. She wore a pair of white high top shoes with bright pink soles and laces, matching the pink fingerless gloves on her hands. The cape's hood was pulled down behind her head, revealing short orange hair and a pair of gleaming turquoise eyes. She was human.

"Yes, I'm Blake. Can I help you with something?"

The woman's eyes somehow lit up even brighter as she exclaimed ,"Oh this is _great_! I'm so glad I found you! I was at this bakery down the street and they had these crepes that looked so yummy so I tried one with blueberries and it _was_ yummy so I got another one with strawberries and-"

As the bubbly young woman continued rambling about crepes, Blake just smiled and nodded politely, while the two faunus boys excused themselves quietly and entered the shop.

"-and then she said she wouldn't feel comfortable letting me eat a _tenth_ crepe but she said if I liked sweets then I should drop by Blake's Books down the street because Blake makes all-natural homemade taffy and it's to _die_ for." She finally took a deep breath, and then was silent, looking at Blake expectantly.

"Okay..." was all Blake could think to respond.

"So I found you! You're Blake! I would like to buy some of your all-natural homemade taffy. Please." Her face was beaming with triumph.

Blake pondered the girl's unusual demeanor for a few moments, then replied, "I think I can help you, Miss...?"

"You can call me... um... Sif. Because that's my name. Sif."

"Okay, Sif. Come inside." As they walked together into the shop, Blake made her way towards the back corner, where the twins emerged from a doorway popping handfuls of candy into their mouths. When they saw Blake, they panicked, ducking behind the counter.

Irritated, she chastised the boys. "What have you got there, you thieving little brats?"

Beryl tried weakly to defend their actions. "Aww come on, Miss Blake. We just took some of the lemon ones. No one buys those anyway!"

He had a point, but she wasn't going to let them off the hook that easily. "Fine. I'll just think of some creative ways you can pay for those during your exercises this evening. Now go outside and do ten minutes of handstands. I have a customer."

The sly faunus boys scampered out the front door, giggling to each other.

"Sorry about that," she said, turning back to Sif.

The strange girl had been looking around the store absentmindedly, apparently interested in the shape of the walls and the ceiling's support beams, rather than the large selection of books on the shelves. "Huh?" She looked at Blake with a confused expression before returning to her original peppy demeanor. "Oh, the little scamps? Nah, don't worry about it. My best friend and I were just like that when we were kids. He always said-" She abruptly stopped talking mid-sentence. She turned around, glancing at the shop's front door.

"Is... something wrong?" Blake asked.

"I uh... I'm really sorry, but I just remembered I have to meet someone." She started making her way to the door, apologizing profusely. "I'm sorry again. I love your store. It's so adorable and you're so pretty and oh I just... I really do have to go meet my friend. Maybe I'll see you later, okay? Okay bye!" She pushed her way out the door, stopped to get her bearings, then set off to the east.

"Um... bye?" Blake said, as perplexed by the girl's sudden exit as she was by her arrival. She followed Sif outside just in time to see her disappear around a building down the street. For a moment, Blake thought she could hear the girl talking to herself before she vanished around the corner, but couldn't make out any words from such a distance.

The twins were both doing handstands in the street, and their expressions were just as bewildered as Blake's.

"What's the deal with that girl?" Coral asked his brother.

"Maybe Miss Blake scared her off," quipped Beryl.

Putting on an air of annoyance, Blake said, "Maybe I _did_." She approached the boys with a frown on her face and her eyebrows raised, and pushed the boys' legs, toppling them over. "And maybe _you two_ shouldn't steal. It's that kind of behavior that gives the faunus a terrible reputation in the human world, and that girl was a human. What do you think she's going to tell her friend now?"

"Her friend?" Coral asked from his seat on the ground.

"Yes, she said she had to go meet a friend and ran out the door."

"Maybe it's that other girl," Beryl wondered aloud.

"No, I believe she said it was- wait, what other girl?" Blake asked.

The boys looked at each other nervously. Coral started, "Well, that's what we were trying to tell you earlier before that weird girl showed up. You see, we were hanging out at Tukson's place before we came over here."

Blake became curious. "And why exactly were you 'hanging out' at Tukson's?"

"Because it smells good," Beryl stated matter-of-factly.

Coral continued, "_Anyway_, we were standing outside his shop, when this girl walked up to us. She had these really pretty green eyes."

"Yeah, and her hair was long and red, but she was wearing this hood over her head that made it hard to see," Beryl added.

"She looked over at us and smiled, which made her look even prettier, and we kinda got really nervous and ran away."

"She smiled at _me_," corrected Beryl, his ego showing.

"No way, she was totally smiling at _me_," countered Coral.

"You're blind!"

"Well you're delusional!"

"_I don't even know what that means_!"

The boys nearly came to pushes and shoves, so Blake had to intervene once again. "So _this_ is what you boys have been fighting about? A girl?"

Their heads dropped to their chests as their faces turned red. "Yeah," they responded together.

Blake pondered this for a moment, then had a hunch. "This girl at Tukson's, did her hood look like the one that orange-haired girl was just wearing?"

The twins furrowed their eyebrows in thought, then Coral replied, "Yeah, it did. It was the same color and everything."

"And _she_ was a human, too," added Beryl.

This last revelation startled Blake. This town didn't get many human visitors, and when it did, they always traveled together. Never alone. So why were these two human girls exploring the town separately, when their attire suggested that they came here together? What was the point?

Wait. Could it be?

_Tukson._

Blake's heart nearly stopped. The boys said they saw the red-haired girl outside Tukson's shop near the town square, to the east. When Sif ran off suddenly, she was going towards the town square. A dark thought entered Blake's mind.

A sense of urgency in her voice, she said, "Boys, come up to the roof with me. I need your eyes."

"What do you mean?" asked Coral, a confused look on his face.

"You two spend as much time on this town's roofs as I do on mine. You'll know if something is out of place.

"Um... okay."

The three of them were on the roof in a matter of seconds.

"Alright you two, I need you to look over toward the town square, toward Tukson's shop, and tell me if you see anything that's not supposed to be there."

"Miss Blake, what's wrong? You're being weird," Coral observed.

"I hope it's nothing, Coral, but I need to know for sure. So please help me look."

The three of them stood on the edge of the roof, surveying the townscape to the east. The blue-haired twin was the first to notice something unusual.

"What's that?" he inquired.

"Where?" his brother asked.

"Those two pointy buildings right there. See the taller one, on the right? What's that on top? A flag? I've never seen a flag up there before."

"Yeah, that's weird. Miss Blake, can you see that?"

Blake saw the two buildings in the distance. Sure enough, there was something waving gently in the wind atop the taller of the two rooftops. It was much too far away to determine what it was, but Blake believed she had a solution.

"Alright, boys. I need you both to look closer at that building. We need to know exactly what's up there."

"How do we do that?" asked Beryl.

"Use your semblances," she replied frankly.

This took the twins by surprise. "We- we don't have semblances yet," Coral said sheepishly.

Blake smiled warmly, and responded, "I know you two have been working a lot harder on your aura skills lately, and I'm pretty certain that you both recently found your semblances, without my help."

The boys looked crestfallen. "It's because we told you about seeing your face while you were dancing, right? That's how you knew," said a dejected Beryl.

Seeing their disappointed expressions, she was quick to reassure them. "I'm so proud of you!" she said, her voice filled with praise. She wrapped them both in a tight hug. They froze in place for a few seconds, but then returned the hug enthusiastically, and began apologizing for keeping their newfound abilities a secret.

"No, it's okay, boys. Really. And we can talk about how awesome and cool it is to have super-vision later. But right now, it's very important that you focus your auras on that building."

The boys' faces took on a determined expression as they nodded and turned towards the east once more. Blake watched as their narrow shoulders relaxed, and their arms hung limp at their sides. Their breathing slowed, and became nearly silent. Their eyes were visibly glowing, even in the sunlight. Coral spoke first.

"It's... a person. I- I can see their feet."

"Yeah, it looks like the person's wearing a cape thing, just like those human girls. It's the same color, too," said his brother.

"What does this person's face look like?" asked Blake. She was getting more worried by the second. A third strange person, wearing the same cape as the first two, standing on a rooftop? The dark thought she had earlier loomed in her mind.

"I can't tell exactly, but it looks like a man," said Beryl.

"It's hard to tell anything about his face. We can't see that far," added Coral.

"Yes you can," she retorted. "Hold hands."

The boys each raised an eyebrow in concern, but didn't take their eyes off the strange figure in the distance.

"Aura is stronger when shared," she explained. "If you hold hands and concentrate, you can share your auras with each other, and your semblances will become stronger. Try it."

The boys each lifted an arm, and grasped their hands tightly together. Their eyes widened with surprise as their vision became even more magnified.

"Oh this is super cool. Okay. It's definitely a man, I can see his face now. He's not wearing his hood. Wow, he's human, too," Beryl observed.

"He has black hair. His head is moving around like he's looking for something. He's got a long ponytail," said Coral.

"That's weird. He's got a streak of pink in his hair. It's the same color as his eyes."

Blake's eyes widened with realization as her suspicions were confirmed.

"Boys, get downstairs and lock the doors. I'll meet you inside in a few minutes. Don't come outside and don't let anyone in until I get down there, understand?" Her tone was gravely serious.

"What's going on?" asked Coral, his face once again filled with worry.

Blake quickly replied, "I need you both to do as I say, and don't ask any questions, okay? Please?"

The boys looked at each other for a moment, then leapt over the edge of the roof without a word, making their way inside the bookstore.

Blake's mind was racing. She went over the impossible situation in her mind over and over again. The Listener, standing watch over the town square. The Berserker, eating crepes and gawking over taffy. The Hand of Fate, loitering outside a candle shop that hid an important secret. And the Bulwark, undoubtedly coordinating their actions. They were here. After two whole years, the Junipers had finally found her.


	3. Miscalculation

Chapter 3: Miscalculation

Blake had to move quickly. She hopped off the roof and entered her apartment through the balcony. Once inside she quickly stripped off her orange sundress and made her way to the small bedroom, grabbing a chair from the kitchen as she went. Using the chair to get a boost, she reached up and pushed aside one of the wooden tiles in the corner of the ceiling. Hidden there was a plain wooden box, which she retrieved and placed on her bed.

Inside the box was an array of clothing: a pair of black pants with a vertical gray stripe along the outer edge of each leg, a white v-neck shirt with mid-length sleeves, and black, calf-length high-heeled boots. She donned each as she removed them from the box. She then removed a long black ribbon, identical to the one she already wore, and wrapped it tightly around her left arm, matching her right. In one corner of the box there lay a third, shorter ribbon. She considered it briefly, then discarded it onto the bed.

She then removed the final item from the box. Her weapon. Her Gambol Shroud. The dark gray sword was nearly three feet in length, double-edged and terminating in a raised spike. Supplementing its lethality was a small striker-fired pistol built into the hilt. Even the weapon's sheath was deadly, shaped essentially like a giant cleaver with a rectangular hole near the bottom. The whole ensemble was a menacing sight to behold. Blake secured the weapon to her back using a small magnetic strip that traced the spine of her shirt. Its weight felt somewhat comforting, as if her body had been incomplete without it.

She turned to leave the room, but stopped as she reached the doorway, and looked back at the small discarded ribbon on the bed. Hesitating briefly, she walked back to the bed and picked up the ribbon, then exited the bedroom.

When Blake made her way downstairs into the shop, the twins were waiting in the small backroom at the bottom of the stairs, their brows drawn tight with worry.

Coral spoke up first. "Miss Blake, what's going on? You're scaring us."

His brother was equally concerned. "Do you know those people? You looked scared when I told you about that guys' pink eyes. You know them, don't you?"

They continued interrogating the teacher they had come to trust and love, while she proceeded to open drawers and cabinets around the room until she found a pen, several pieces of blank paper, and a small map. As she began writing hastily, she spoke to them, ignoring their questions.

"Boys... you have to leave."

The twins looked confused. Beryl asked, "What do you mean?"

"This town. It's not a safe place right now. You- you have to go somewhere else for a little while. I'll come for you later."

Their eyes widened. They looked genuinely scared now.

"Are you leaving too?" asked Coral.

"No, Coral. I need to stay here."

"Then why do _we_ have to leave?"

Blake stopped writing, and rolled up the completed note together with the small map. She then tied it shut with the extra ribbon from the box. Kneeling down in front of the twins, she repeated her earlier sentiment. "Because it's not safe for you here. Now, I want you both to listen very carefully, okay? You need to go into the mountains to the south. I took you there a few months ago, and there was a cave. We climbed trees, and made a fire, and slept in the cave, remember?"

The boys nodded, their eyes wide with worry.

"You need to find that cave, and stay there. Make sure no one sees you. And do _not_ come back here, no matter what happens. I'll come find you." She took the rolled up note and placed it into Coral's hand. "This is the most important part. If I'm not there by sundown, you need to read this note, and do exactly what it says."

"But why-" started Beryl.

"Promise you'll do exactly what the note says if I don't come find you," she interjected, her eyes pleading for them to do as she asked.

"But what if-"

"_Promise me._"

"...We promise," they said together, tears welling up in the corners of their eyes.

"Good." She abruptly threw her arms around the boys, hugging them tightly. "I'm so proud of you both. Stay together. Take care of each other. And don't forget what I said." She stood, and took their hands into her own. She walked with them quickly to the back door of her shop, and led them outside. "Now, run as fast as you can to that cave."

Their eyes were glistening with tears, silently pleading for some kind of explanation or reassurance.

"_Go!_"

Without a word, they turned to the south and began running, hard and fast. As she watched them speed off into the distance, Blake whispered one final lie: "I'll see you soon."

* * *

Confident that the twins were well on their way out of town, Blake began making her way to the main square. She sprinted down the town's narrow streets, staying close to the buildings and out of the Listener's line of sight. She needed to find a way to the rear of the candle shop without drawing his attention. Not a simple task, as the man's sense of awareness was on par with her own. It was made even more difficult by his unusual semblance: subtlety.

If he directed his aura toward a specific person or group, they simply wouldn't notice him. He must have been broadcasting it over the entire town square, as no one had been alerted to his presence even though he was positioned in a very visible location. Luckily for Blake, the Listener hadn't considered the possibility that two young faunus boys would have been looking for him from almost half a kilometer away. He hadn't cast a wide enough net with his aura, so the twins were able to use their own semblances to spot him.

As Blake approached the town square, she began to experience the effects of the Listener's ability. It was frustrating. She was fortunate enough to know where he was positioned _before_, but once she came within range of his semblance, she became unable to confirm his presence on that roof. She could technically see him, but his semblance forced her to forget that she was seeing _him_. She had to operate under the assumption that he was still on the same roof, and avoided coming into that line of sight as she advanced toward Tukson's shop.

It took longer than she anticipated, but she finally arrived at her destination at the rear of an unremarkable building with a green roof. Tukson's Candle Shop. As Blake peeked into the small window on the back wall of the shop, her hand shot up to cover her mouth, stifling a horrified gasp. The window looked into the back storeroom, and through the doorway which led into the shop itself. On the floor in front of the counter was Tukson, lying in a large pool of his own blood. His attackers were nowhere in sight.

Blake suddenly had an ominous thought: _They're already downstairs. If they find Tukson's equipment, they'll..._

Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand on her right shoulder. Before she was able to turn her head, a foot drove itself into the back of her left knee, nearly breaking it. As her leg crumpled beneath her, a second hand gripped her right wrist, while the first slammed into her shoulder with incredible force, completely dislocating it. She barely had time to register the pain before her assailant took hold of the arm with both hands, lifting her into the air. A young man with cold magenta irises looked into her eyes. _Lie Ren,_ she thought. _The Listener spotted me after all. _A very brief moment later, Ren whirled around, swinging Blake by the arm. She registered what was happening just quick enough to shield herself with her aura. Her body hit the outer wall of the building at an absurd speed, breaking through it completely.

As she tumbled across the storeroom, her leg and shoulder screaming in pain, she righted herself and used the remaining momentum to dash into the main shop, away from Ren's last known location. She leapt over the sales counter clumsily, and limped quickly toward the front door. _Need to get out of these close quarters. Not enough room to fight in here, especially with one arm out of commission._ Suddenly, as if responding to her intentions, the front door of the shop burst open, breaking completely off its hinges and soaring across the room in Blake's direction. She dove aside, barely dodging the improvised projectile. When she looked at the entryway where the door used to be, she saw a familiar face.

"What the _heck_ is going on in here?" said a deceptively juvenile voice. "What was that loud crash? What's the taffy lady doing here? Why does she have a freaking _sword_? _Ren what is going on I am so confused right now_." Standing in the doorway was the Berserker herself, wielding a massive, ornate silver warhammer.

_Nora Valkyrie. Damn. This room just got a lot smaller._

Blake promptly answered Nora's questions by launching herself at the orange-haired young woman, sword drawn. Her rushed attack might have succeeded had there been less distance to cover, but her target easily blocked the strike with the handle of her hammer. "Oooh she's _feisty_, huh?" she quipped as she planted her left foot behind her, lifted her right leg, and rammed her foot into Blake's abdomen. Blake could feel the air force itself from her lungs as she was sent careening into a shelf full of candles, demolishing it. Nora's small frame and peppy demeanor belied her staggeringly disproportionate strength and penchant for violence.

Blake struggled her way out of the pile of splintered wood and wax. Her breath was coming in short, labored bursts, and her head was pounding. Her right arm was still essentially useless, but her adrenaline was making the pain manageable for the most part. _I have to get out of here. Once she moves into the shop, I can slip by her and regroup outside_, she thought. She hid behind an untouched shelf full of candles, paying no mind to the forgettable young man in the dark green tailcoat standing right next to her. As Nora stepped through the doorway into the room, she began twirling her giant hammer above her head, as if it were a feather-light baton. "I'm _really_ sorry that I had to leave your adorable little store so suddenly, but _jeez_ you didn't have to come over here and try to _kill_ me. That's just _rude_. I'm not crazy for thinking that's rude, right Ren?" she said, feigning resentment.

"No, Nora," said a voice directly beside Blake. _Who-_ she was once again blindsided by Ren using his semblance, driving his knee into her stomach. As she doubled over in pain, Ren used his right hand to wrench the sword from Blake's hand, while dropping his left elbow forcefully into the small of her back. She hit the ground with a conclusive _thud_, coughing and gasping for air. Her aura was getting weaker by the second. She managed to raise herself to all fours, and looked up to find Nora standing right in front of her, still twirling the giant warhammer.

"Time to fly, kitty cat!" said Nora victoriously. She twirled her body around to match the hammer's spin, gripping its handle by the base and augmenting its already dangerous momentum with a wide swing, which was on a collision course with Blake's torso. Blake conjured up as much aura as she could and activated her semblance. A split second later the massive head of the hammer plowed through Blake's illusive shadow clone and into the shelf of candles, reducing it – and three shelves behind it – to a cloud of splinters, sawdust, and powdered wax. Nora seemed atypically annoyed that she'd missed her target. "Now where-" she wondered aloud, glancing around the half-demolished room.

She spotted Blake hobbling towards the open doorway, about to make her escape. "No you don't, you sneaky little-" she began, starting for the door.

"Nora, wait." She was interrupted by Ren.

"_What!?_" Nora shot back, whirling around to face him.

Ren gestured towards the rear of the shop. Standing in the doorway at the back of the store was a muscular young man with messy blond hair and deep blue eyes, and a tall red-haired young woman with her eyes closed, resting her hand on her leader's shoulder. Their bodies were softly glowing.

"Oh. Gotcha," said Nora, resting the head of her warhammer on the floor while she gripped the handle, propping herself up casually. "Well, it was fun while it lasted."

As Blake finally made it to the open doorway, she attempted to step through it only to encounter some sort of unseen barrier blocking her path. Confused and slightly panicked, she reached up with her left arm and began feeling the air frantically. Where there should have been open air in the doorway there was now an invisible wall, solid and unyielding. _No. No no no no this is wrong. This can't be happening. He's not supposed to be able to _project_ it. _Blake pushed and pounded on the barrier in a frenzy as the foursome behind her simply watched and waited. The pair who most recently entered the room moved from their position at the rear doorway and strolled to the center of the shop, joining their comrades. The woman's hand didn't leave her partner's shoulder.

"You're wasting your energy, you know," said the young man very nonchalantly. "Not even Nora could break through that barrier as long as Pyrrha here is augmenting my aura."

"Yeah, I've tried! It was messy," Nora added.

As they watched her struggle, Blake became more desperate. She wheeled around, searching everywhere for some sort of alternate exit strategy. She noticed her foes had moved to the center of the room between her and the rear doorway, leaving it wide open to the storeroom where the Blake-shaped hole still gaped in the back wall. _He can't have enough aura to put up a barrier around the entire building... could he?_ Seeing this as the only option left to her, she summoned the last ounce of aura she had left. Blake's semblance allowed her to move much more quickly than if she simply ran, but using it multiple times in a row was exhausting. Her hope was that this strategy would allow her to reach the storeroom in mere seconds, before her attackers could stop her. Seeing no other option, she activated her semblance in rapid-fire succession and sped laterally along the wall, leaving behind shadow-clones every few feet.

The moment Blake moved from her position at the doorway, the group's leader spoke a single, quiet word, as much a command as it was a name: "_Pyrrha_." The red-haired girl opened her eyes. In a flash, she removed her hand from her partner's shoulder, reached over her own shoulder to grasp the spear attached to her back, wheeled around to face the wall behind them, and hurled the spear expertly at the empty space near the bottom of the wall. The weapon traveled on an impossibly straight trajectory, cutting through the air with unforgiving purpose. Blake was so focused on her escape that she failed to notice the girl's swift actions. Just before the spear impacted the wall, Blake appeared, directly in its path. The red and gold missile penetrated the side of her lower right leg, piercing through muscle and bone as if they were air, and then buried itself deeply in the wall next to her. Blake's escape came to a brutally abrupt halt. _Why did I stop moving?_ she briefly thought to herself.

Then came the pain.

She crumpled to the floor, her leg skewered against the wall. The only thing Blake could do was scream. It began as a surprised, painful scream – a reaction to a stimulus. She grabbed the spear with her left hand and tried in vain to pry it out of the wall, but her efforts only caused the sharp edge of the spear to cut through more of her leg. She nearly passed out from the pain, and from screaming. Once the futility of her situation set in her cries became much more primal. They were filled with pure feral rage; she was a beast caught in a trap. It was as painful as it was humiliating.

After a couple minutes of screaming Blake's body began to overload itself with adrenaline, causing the pain to dull to the point where she could be still without shrieking. Her body was trembling, and her wound was bleeding badly. She held herself off the floor with her forearms and her left knee, which was still throbbing from Ren's initial ambush.

At this point, the blond-haired young man sauntered over next to her, turned his back to the wall, and slid down until he was sitting on the floor in front of her. Blake stared at the floor, her eyes wide with rage and panic. Her face was dripping with sweat and tears.

The man leaned his head towards hers, speaking in a quiet, friendly tone: "Hi there. I'm Jaune. Let's talk."


	4. Ruin

Chapter 4: Ruin

_Don't think about the pain. Just try to focus on staying as still as possible. Don't talk. Don't move._

Blake's thoughts were interrupted by the young, blond-haired man sitting on the floor in front of her.

"Hi there. I'm Jaune. Let's talk."

Blake showed no visible interest in participating in any sort of dialogue, but Jaune continued nonetheless.

"Pyrrha's pretty good with that spear, huh?" he asked casually.

She once again remained silent, focusing on keeping her bleeding leg as still as possible. She knew she was at their mercy for the time being, so there was no point in attempting another escape.

"Not gonna talk to me?" Jaune said as he reached across the floor and picked up a broken yellow candle. He sniffed it inquisitively, as if trying to identify the scent, then chucked it forcefully at the base of the spear, sending another wave of searing pain through Blake's leg. She let out a short, guttural screech of pain, but quickly regained her composure. She thought, _I won't be able to say anything if I black out from pain, you idiot._

Jaune ignored her pained outburst, continuing their one-sided conversation: "Hey, remind me, what do your people call Pyrrha?"

Blake still refused to acknowledge his presence, so Jaune picked up another broken candle. He once again lifted his arm, and-

"Hand..." said Blake quietly, trying to avoid further torture.

Jaune lowered his arm, eyeing her curiously. He leaned in close. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

She raised her head, meeting his eyes with her own. Through gritted teeth she replied, "The Hand of Fate."

"The Hand of Fate! That's right. Wow. That is pretty damn cool. I mean, Pyrrha doesn't like it, but I think it's awesome."

"It _is_ a little dramatic," Pyrrha chimed in, smiling at her partner.

"But you have to admit, it's perfect," countered Jaune. "You know why, Blake?"

Blake lowered her eyes, once again staring at the floor.

"Because you can't escape fate."

_Is he trying to make some kind of dramatic point? While I'm harpooned to a wall and bleeding to death?_ A long silence followed, broken when Jaune stood from his sitting position and cleared his throat. When he spoke, his words were hurried and impatient.

"Well, let's get this over with. We already know that you and Tukson are both members of the White Fang. We also know-"

"_Were_," interrupted Blake.

"Excuse me?"

"We _were_ members of the White Fang. Over two years ago. We got out once the bombings-"

"Then why are you still breaking White Fang prisoners out of jail, Blake? Why are you still granting them asylum in this town? If you've been out of the game for two years, then why did we find equipment for forging ID's in Tukson's basement?"

"The Conclave is full of paranoid hypocrites! Those people were all innocent! None of them had any association with the White Fang, they were all wrongfully imprisoned!"

"And what qualifies _you_ to judge whether or not a person is innocent, Blake? Your years of experience being on the flipside of that coin?" Jaune's friendliness from earlier was now replaced by indictment.

"I had records. I knew exactly who-"

"Don't you even realize the simple fact that you were a high-ranking member of the White Fang means that we have to track down and deal with anyone you've come into contact with for the last _two years_?"

Blake's eyes widened with shock. "Wh- what do you-"

"Some of those people may very well have _been_ innocent, Blake. But because you tried to _buck the system_ they're now just as guilty as you are in the eyes of the law."

She was too bewildered to reply.

"How many, Blake? How many people in this town are escaped prisoners? How many promises of new lives have you made to them?"

"I don't know. I- I can't-"

"How many of them have children? How many of them even knew you were White Fang when you broke them out? Did you bother to tell any of them that simply associating with you was considered terrorism?"

Blake buried her face in her hands. "S- stop, ple-"

"How many people are going to be sent to prison – or worse – because of your actions? How many of these people have you _condemned_ because of your perverse, self-righteous sense of justice?"

"I don't _know_!" she exclaimed, sobbing uncontrollably into her hands, which were red with blood.

"I do," replied Jaune. "_All_ of them, Blake. You've damned _all_ of them."

Jaune went silent, letting this devastating revelation sink in. All that could be heard in the quaint little candle shop was the sound of Blake weeping.

_I helped these people. They were all innocent. None of them did anything wrong... And now, because of me, they'll never be innocent again. They're going to lose everything. All of them. I've destroyed them all._

She slumped to the floor, every breath a helpless sob of anguish. Her impaled leg was in burning agony, and her shoulders ached from holding herself off the ground. She didn't allow herself to ignore the pain any longer. She wailed in sorrow for what seemed like hours.

After allowing Blake to despair for a few minutes, Jaune spoke to his partner: "Go ahead and take out the spear. She's not going anywhere now."

Pyrrha reached down and plucked the spear from both the wall and Blake's leg with ease; she might as well have been removing a needle from a pincushion. This only compounded Blake's agony, and she once again began screaming in pain, clutching her leg with both hands in an effort to stop the bleeding.

"Knock her out. We're behind schedule," ordered Jaune.

"You got it," replied Nora.

A pink, fist-shaped wrecking ball crashed into the side of Blake's head, launching her hard into the wall. As she began to lose consciousness, she heard Jaune give one more order to his team: "Pick her up. We need to make sure she has a good view of what happens next."

_What- what happens next?_

Her vision faded into darkness.

* * *

"Blake..."

"..."

"It's time to wake up, Blake..."

Blake opened her eyes slowly. Jaune Arc stood in front of her, calling her out of her unconscious state. "How are you feeling, Blake?"

She almost replied, then remembered who was asking. She instinctively tried to get up, but quickly found her hands and feet bound tightly by sturdy metal cuffs. She also discovered that she was sitting with her back against a large tree, encircled several times by a heavy chain. They had taken great care to make sure she wouldn't be able to move. She assessed her accumulated injuries, and was shocked to find that her leg was no longer bleeding. It had been wrapped expertly with a white bandage, stained red with blood but holding fast. _What's- why did he bandage my leg?_ she wondered. Jaune must have noticed her confused expression. "I had Ren bandage up your leg. You probably would've bled out otherwise."

"Why?"

"To keep you alive, of course. You're welcome."

Still confused, Blake began observing her surroundings. The rest of Jaune's team was nowhere to be found. _Where did they bring me_? She looked around as much as her bindings would allow, and discovered that she was sitting at the top of a hill that overlooked the town. _Coral and Beryl sometimes come here when they skip out on their training_, she mused. _Why am I here?_

Jaune once again read her expression correctly: "I brought you up here because it's a got a great view. I mean, you can see the whole town from out here."

"That's true, but it's not _why_ I'm here, is it?" Blake asked.

Condescendingly, Jaune replied, "You are a smart one, huh? No, I brought you here because you need to see-"

"-What happens next," Blake finished. She remembered it was the last thing he said before she'd blacked out. She then remembered their heated conversation from earlier, and her guilt came crashing back down around her. "You're going to send them all back. They're all criminals now. They're going back to those prison camps in Atlas." She began to tear up again.

Jaune either didn't hear her, or chose to ignore her. "The Conclave hates you, you know."

The offhand statement caught Blake off guard. She didn't know how to respond, so she remained silent.

"You were like, the bane of their existence for _years._ Every time you would break some more faunus out of prison, they'd have to spend tons of money covering it up, beefing up security and whatnot. It drove them crazy, which in turn fell on our heads. I mean, we _are_ the best that the Anti-Terrorism Units have to offer, after all. How was it so hard to find _one girl_?"

Jaune's voice was hollow and distant, his posture fatigued.

"So, we trained harder. Searched harder. Fought harder. We nearly killed ourselves with exhaustion trying to find you. When we finally got the intel that led us here, we were thrilled, to say the least. We were finally going to catch you and deliver you to the Conclave ourselves."

_Were?_

"So imagine my disappointment, not half an hour before we arrived in town, when I received new orders from the brass in Atlas. We're not taking anyone to prison. Too much manpower. Too expensive."

"New orders? What do you-" Blake started. _Wait. If they're not taking them to prison, then they must be... no. They can't..._ "You're not serious!" she protested.

"Nora," Jaune spoke into the radio hidden in his ear. "Are you all set?"

"_You can't do this! This is murder! You're killing hundreds of innocent people! There are children down there!_" she screamed as she struggled violently against her restraints. "_I'll do anything! I'll tell you anything you want to know just please STOP!"_

Ignoring her, Jaune spoke once more to his teammate, six words to seal the fates of hundreds of people: "Salt the earth. Leave nothing behind."

* * *

Nora Valkyrie stood in front of a recently vacated book/taffy shop, watching the sun set over the horizon. It was one of her favorite things to do by herself, when she had the time. She loved watching the sun disappear over the edge of the world. Although its absence brought darkness, it would inevitably rise again, bringing light and warmth back to the world. Just like Ren.

_Ugh. There I go, getting all sappy again. Gosh, what would Ren think if he knew how gross and emotional I get over sunsets?_

She turned to look at her partner. He was leaning against a nearby wall with his eyes closed, quietly meditating. _I wonder what he's thinking about right now. Is he going over the fight we just had with the cat lady? Or maybe he's thinking of new ways to use his semblance. Or is he just thinking of something that makes him happy? ...Is he thinking about me?_

"It's not polite to stare, Nora," said Ren, his eyes still closed.

She was abruptly roused from her thoughts, and began stammering, "What are- stare? What do you mean? I wasn't- I mean, you're... I'm just- _pbbbbst_\- I wasn't staring, Ren. Why- why don't _you_ stop staring, huh?" Her tone was bubbly, and yet awkward at the same time. Par for the course, really.

Ren opened his deep magenta eyes, smiling at the girl's frustrated attempt at a witty retort. He walked casually over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. Her rant was cut short when he pulled her into an embrace and planted his lips firmly on hers. Her turquoise eyes widened for a moment, then closed softly as she returned the kiss. After a few seconds, the muscles in her body relaxed. She sighed, and a slight moan escaped as she exhaled. When they finally broke the kiss, Ren quietly said, "And by the way, I _was_ thinking about you."

Nora's cheeks turned blood red. She pushed her way out of his arms playfully and said, "Ugh, too _mushy_, Ren. Come on. I _knew_ you were thinking about me, you didn't have to come out and _say_ it all nice and romantic and stuff. _Gah_, keep it in your _pants_." Crudely imitating their team leader, she added, "We're on a _mission_, you know."

As if this last statement had somehow summoned him, Jaune's voice came in through Nora's earpiece: "Nora, are you all set?"

Upon hearing her leader's request, Nora glanced at Ren, the playfulness in her expression replaced by unease. He smiled at her warmly, and nodded.

Nora responded obediently, "Yes, sir. I'm ready. What are my operational protocols?"

Jaune replied coldly, "Salt the earth. Leave nothing behind."

Nora hesitated, then gave the appropriate reply, "Copy that. Commencing 'Salt The Earth' protocols in sixty seconds."

She let out an exhausted sigh as she looked at her partner. "This is gonna hurt more than usual, isn't it?" she asked, her words quiet and meek.

"You'll be fine, Nora. You're the strongest person in the world, remember?" Ren replied softly, embracing her once more. "It'll be over before you know it. Pyrrha will be here to stop you, and I'll be there when you wake up. Just like always."

This time, Nora initiated the kiss, reaching behind Ren's head and pulling his lips zealously into her own. She held him tightly, as if it were they were parting ways forever. They shared each other's warmth for a few brief moments, and then Nora pushed her partner away softly. "I'll be seeing you," she said, as she always did.

"I'll be waiting," came Ren's dutiful reply. He activated his semblance, disappearing from Nora's realm of perception. She was alone.

Nora shook off her unease and walked to the center of the street. _Time to go to work_, she thought.

"Ten seconds to deployment," she said into her radio. "Going dark." She took the earpiece out of her ear and tossed it on the ground, crushing it underneath her pink and white shoe. It's not like she'd be able to use it anyway.

_Pain is temporary._

She tore the cape away from her body, letting the breeze carry it away down the street.

_Pain begets strength._

She kneeled down until her left knee almost touched the ground. She closed her eyes.

_Pain is power._

She planted her hands on the ground, and tensed the muscles in her legs and back.

_Embrace the pain._

She pushed off the ground with incredible force, launching herself over forty feet into the air. As she rose, she spread her arms and legs out wide and threw her head back, as if she was trying to absorb the sky itself.

_BECOME THE PAIN._

She quietly uttered a single word, and thus condemned an entire town to ruin.

"_**Aegis**_."

As soon as the word escaped her lips, Nora's body was engulfed by a blinding flash of light. Accompanying this light was a deafening sound not unlike thunder. To an observer, it would appear that lightning had struck the little bookstore. However, when this light dissipated, Nora had undergone a transformation.

When she landed on the ground, she wore a hulking suit of mechanized armor, nearly twenty feet in height. It lacked a distinct head, but was otherwise humanoid in shape. The suit had disproportionately large arms, each ending in a massive, three-fingered "hand", and the legs were just as bulky. There were large, pink and white armored plates covering most of the suit.

Deep within the suit's barrel-chested torso, Nora opened her eyes. The visor over her face blinked on, revealing a live feed of the area around her, and a heads up display that contained a motion tracker, her team's vital stats, and various other information. She took the time to test out the suit's mobility, waving her burly arms up and down, side to side, and hopping from one heavy foot to the other. The suit responded to her movements instantly and precisely. She smiled. Less than a dozen people in the entire world possessed an Aegis, and none of the units were the same. This was Nora's own personal dust-infused mechanized armor. Her Daganhild Aegis.

Like other Aegis units, it contained an extensive system of tubes and cables flowing with dust within its circuitry. It had the ability to augment a person's aura, and to take on the properties of their semblance. Unique to Daganhild, however, was another system designed exclusively for Nora. Its sole purpose was to simply activate and maintain her semblance.

Nora Valkyrie had what some would call an _unfortunate_ semblance: she became physically stronger whenever she experienced pain. The more intense the pain, the stronger she would become. However, a side effect of this increase in strength was a decrease in higher-order thinking capacity. Basically, the stronger she became, the less control she had over her actions. Once her agony reached a certain threshold, she would abandon rational thought altogether, fighting with an uncontrollable, trance-like fury, motivated only by pain. A creature of pure instinct and reaction. A true berserker.

Nora took a deep breath, and gave Daganhild the command to trigger her semblance. The suit responded by activating dozens of long, narrow screws which emerged from the rear of the cockpit and began slowly burrowing into Nora's back and shoulders. As she always did, Nora began shrieking uncontrollably, trying in vain to mitigate the excruciating agony. The screws continued to twist, burying themselves deeper into her skin. She soon found herself on all fours, punching craters into the street with her suit's mammoth fists.

She continued to scream in anguish, lashing out with her suit's giant arms at nearby buildings. Her left arm plowed through the bookstore where she had first met Blake, causing the second floor apartment to cave into the shop below. Nora watched as it fell. Observing this small demolition actually seemed to dull the pain, allowing Nora a brief moment to remember her mission.

_Salt the earth. Leave nothing behind._

She focused on the words as the screws in her back abruptly twisted another quarter turn, causing the pain to come screaming back, worse than before. However, Nora now had something to concentrate on. Her mind was already succumbing to the effects of her semblance, but at this point, she only needed to remember six words.

_Salt the earth. Leave nothing behind._

She swung her hulking right arm, effortlessly obliterating another building.

_Salt the earth. Leave nothing behind._

She rushed forward, plowing through a row of small houses with ease.

_Salt the earth. Leave nothing behind._

Inside Daganhild's cockpit, the screws were now completely embedded into Nora's back and shoulders. Some of them had penetrated bone. By this point, the pain was so intense, her mind was failing to form coherent thoughts. She couldn't even remember her name, but she could still remember those six words.

_Salt the earth. Leave nothing behind._

Her beautiful turquoise eyes were now crying blood. Nora Valkyrie was gone. Only the Berserker remained.

* * *

Blake watched as a flash of light appeared over her bookstore in the town below. When the light cleared, a monstrous robotic figure appeared in its place, falling to the ground. She watched as the mechanical beast fell to all fours and began clobbering holes into the street with its oversized fist. It behaved as if it was in pain. She watched as it slammed its arm completely through her home, reducing it to rubble. The roof, the books, the taffy, all erased in one swift motion. She watched as the monstrosity began tearing down buildings one after the other, leaving nothing but rubble in its wake.

Blake watched it all, and said nothing. She didn't allow herself to look away, to ignore what was happening. She had to see the consequences of her actions. After all, this was because of her. An entire town full of innocent people, razed to the ground because of what she'd done.

Blake watched, and she wept.

"Incredible, isn't it?" said Jaune, watching the mayhem with wide eyes. "How one person can possess the ability to completely destroy hundreds of lives. I guess you and Nora have that in common. Except you _chose_ to bring destruction on these people. Nora's just a weapon, performing her function."

Blake remained silent, transfixed by the slaughter taking place below.

"She really is a Berserker. The faunus are good at picking nicknames, huh? Of course, she won't be able to stop herself, even after everything's been destroyed. She's too far gone at this point. Pyrrha will have to step in and knock her out. She's got a knack for finding her opponents' weak spots. Come to think of it, she-"

"Aren't you going to kill me?" interrupted Blake.

Surprised, Jaune turned to face his prisoner. Blake's eyes were still fixed on the town. Her face had taken on an expression of complete despair. It was the look of someone who knew she had truly lost everything. Utter hopelessness.

"Kill you?" replied Jaune curiously.

"My freedom, this town, the people here. You've taken everything, except for my life. It only makes sense that would be the last thing you take. Those were your orders, right?" she replied. Her voice wavered, but was otherwise emotionless.

"No," he answered as he walked up to the tree that held her captive. He looked into her confused eyes, and reached into his back pocket. When he removed it, he held in his hand a small, triangular yellow tag with a metal ring through the tip. Printed on the tag was a number. "Do you recognize this, Blake?" he asked, holding it in front of her face.

She did.

"When you broke out of prison the first time, we found this in the forest a few miles west of the camp. The ring had somehow been broken, and the tag was left in the woods. I've been carrying it around with me ever since," he mused. He sounded almost nostalgic.

He took the metal ring in his fingers and pried it open, creating a small gap. He approached Blake and kneeled in front of her. Wordlessly, he slid the ring over Blake's left cat-ear. The end of the ring fit perfectly into the small scar in her ear. He then squeezed the ring until the two ends snapped together, locking in place. He stood, observing his handiwork.

Blake's head hung low as she stared at the ground with empty, dead eyes, the yellow tag dangling from her ear, a badge of shame. The only sounds that could be heard were the consistent rumblings of wanton destruction in the town below.

"No, Blake, my orders were never to kill you," Jaune said, turning to face the town.

Tears were slowly falling from Blake's eyes, onto the grass below. There was silence between them. The sounds of Nora's warpath had ceased. When Blake lifted her head, the sight stopped her heart. The town she had lived in for two years, that she had brought hundreds of escaped prisoners and refugees to, was gone. Every building, every street, everything. It had all been completely leveled. Nothing remained but rubble and ashes.

"My orders were to _crush_ you."

Jaune turned his head to face her, observing the utterly defeated expression on her face.

"Mission accomplished." As Jaune spoke these final words, he began walking towards the ruined town, his hands in his pockets. Blake watched as he disappeared over the horizon, abandoning her to her fate.

* * *

_Dear Coral and Beryl,_

_If you are reading this, then something bad has happened, and I won't be able to come for you. The town is no longer safe. Do not go back there for any reason._

_You need to go to Vale. Use this map to find your way there. Travel only when it's dark, and find a safe place to hide and rest during the day. Don't go through any towns, and don't talk to anyone. The trip will take a few weeks on foot._

_You'll need to hide your tails. The Conclave peacekeepers in Vale are very suspicious of faunus, but you won't stick out as much if your tails are hidden._

_When you get to the city, there's someone you need to find. She and I helped each other a lot in the past. We've never met in person, so I don't know what she looks like, but I know she works very hard to help people like us. The only thing I know about her is her name. It's Yang._

_Yang can be a little paranoid, so when you find her you'll need some kind of proof that I sent you to her. Show her the ribbon attached to this note. It was a gift from her._

_I know this is all so sudden, and I wish it wasn't happening. I know this is going to be hard for you, but I am so proud of how strong you've both become. Look after each other. Keep each other safe. I love you both so much, and I'm so sorry._

_-Blake_


	5. Pieces (INTERMISSION)

**INTERMISSION**

* * *

Chapter 5: Pieces

In the bustling downtown area of Vale, there was a bar called the Little Dragon. This particular bar had a reputation among the people of Vale as being one of the few places one could go at night to get a _quiet_ drink. Many people attributed this to its owner, who had a "dangerously low tolerance for bullshit," as they called it.

As usual, there was a man tending bar by the name of Hei Xiong – "Junior," to those who knew him. He was a bear of a man, standing nearly seven feet tall, with a neatly trimmed black beard and mustache. At the moment, he was passing the time by chatting with a man nursing a drink at the far end of the bar, and by keeping one eye on a group of men sitting at a corner table, who had already been drinking and socializing for an hour or so.

_They're not regulars, but they're not causing any trouble, either. As long as the girls are keeping an eye on them, they shouldn't be a problem._

He looked toward the front door of the bar. At a small, bar-height table next to the exit sat a petite young woman with long, jet-black hair and pale green eyes. She was wearing a white leather jacket over a strapless white top, and tight, light-blue jeans, the legs of which were tucked into a pair of white, mid-calf boots. She was sitting alone reading a fashion magazine, glancing up occasionally to look at the corner table where the six young men were carousing the night away.

_Well, at least she noticed them too. Can never tell if those girls are actually doing their job or not. Come to think of it..._

"Hey Mel, where's your sister?" asked Junior.

Without looking up from her magazine, Melanie replied, "Out."

Annoyed at her apathetic tone, Junior raised an eyebrow and said, "Could you be a little more specific?"

"She said she had to run some errands. I didn't ask where."

"Did she say when she would be back?"

"Later."

"How _much_ later?"

"I don't know."

Junior simply stared at her, exasperated. A loud buzzing sound rang out from the back room, punctuating the conversation. Someone was ringing the doorbell at the rear delivery entrance.

"Just... mind the bar, will you? I've got to take this delivery."

"Whatever," replied the uninterested young woman as she folded the magazine and made her way over to the bar. There were only a dozen or so people in the room at the moment; she would be fine on her own.

_I wish these girls would throw me a damn bone every now and then, jeez. I can't pay them for hours they don't even show up for,_ thought Junior.

He exited the room through a swinging door behind the bar, walked through the small kitchen and rear storage room, and pushed open the delivery door at the back of the building. He was greeted by a man standing next to a large box truck. The man had already unloaded a few dozen boxes of liquor into the alleyway behind the building, and only needed Junior's signature for the confirmation. The man then hopped back in his truck and continued on his route, leaving Junior to start carrying in the delivery by himself. After ten or so minutes of lugging boxes into the bar, he started to sweat.

_I just had this damned suit cleaned, and now it's going to smell like sweat and-_

His thoughts were derailed when his foot caught the corner of one of the remaining boxes, and the two he was carrying were thrown from his grip. "_Shit!_" he exclaimed, and tried in vain to reach out and catch them. Just before they smashed into the ground, a flash of red appeared out of nowhere and the boxes stopped in mid-air, just above the pavement.

"Need some help, Mr. Xiong?" asked a girl's voice, stifling a giggle.

Junior grabbed one of the rescued boxes and found the source of the voice: a crimson-clad girl with red tinted black hair. She was smiling gleefully.

"Good catch, Ruby. Really saved my ass."

"Awww it's nothing, really. Lucky I was so close by, right?" she said, entirely too pleased with herself.

"If by 'close,' you mean over fifty meters away down the alley, then yeah, I'm one lucky son of a bitch," he replied sarcastically.

_I always forget how fast this girl is. It's unsettling._

Ruby crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side. "Do you want my help or not?"

Junior sighed. "Sure. I've only got like ten or twelve more of these to get inside."

A minute later, all of the delivered boxes were stacked neatly in the building's storage room. The labor had taken its toll on Junior, who was sitting on a small bench in the alley, catching his breath.

"So, Ruby. Got a package for us?"

"I _am_ a courier, Mr. Xiong. What kind of courier would I be if I wasn't... _courier-ing_... things? Whatever. Here you go." The awkward girl pulled a small envelope out of the pocket of her jumper and pushed it toward Junior.

He didn't take the envelope immediately, instead asking, "Don't you want to give that to her yourself? She's just upstairs."

Ruby's eyes started shifting side to side nervously. She began stammering, "Well, I don't... I really have to be somewhere. I've got to pick up some stuff at the market, and... Yang's always so busy... and I just-"

"Okay, I get it. You're in a hurry," he interrupted, snatching the envelope from her outstreched hand. He could feel the weight of several small, metal objects shifting inside it. As he stood from the bench, he added, "She'd probably like to see you, that's all."

Ruby didn't respond, choosing awkward silence over awkward excuses.

Junior dropped the subject. "Alright, never mind. I'll let you be on your way. Tell Penny I said hello," he said with a smile.

The girl's smile returned as she pointed to her ear and replied, "You just did!"

"Salutations, Mister Xiong!" came another girl's voice, emanating from a small speaker in Ruby's backpack. "I hope you are faring well this evening!"

Junior noticed the inconspicuous earpiece in Ruby's ear, then looked at her with one cocked eyebrow and asked, "Are you ever _not_ on the phone with that girl?"

"...Nope!"

Junior sighed once again and opened the door to the building. "Have a nice night, you two."

"See you later, Mr. Xiong!" Ruby dashed back down the long alley, rounding the corner less than a second later.

_I wish that girl would just drop in and say 'hi' to her sister every now and then_, thought Junior as he made his way towards the main barroom. _She's good at fixing Yang's shitty mood swings._

As he reentered the bar, he immediately noticed that the noise had increased significantly from earlier. The main source of this volume change was the group of men sitting in the corner booth, who Melanie had supplied with two more rounds of drinks, much to Junior's chagrin. He leaned in close to her and said, "If they start falling out of the booth, cut 'em off. Yang'll be pissed if they puke in the floor."

"Whatever," replied Melanie, who was once again nose-deep in her magazine. "Mil's back. She said she has some info for you."

Junior glanced toward the front door, and saw Miltia sitting in the same spot her twin sister had previously occupied, reading a copy of the same magazine. Her outfit was identical to her sister's, only she preferred red and black to her sister's white and blue ensemble. She looked up from her magazine, and beckoned for Junior to meet her in the bar's small side office. Once inside, they shut the door.

"You know I can't pay you for the time you weren't here, right?" Junior started.

"I'll deal," she replied with indifference. "I heard a rumor while I was out. The boss might want to know about it."

"Can't you tell her yourself?"

"I don't want to deal with her while she's crabby."

Irritated, he dropped the subject. The girls weren't very good with people, so it was probably for the best.

"Okay fine, what is it?"

"Word is, a town in northern Vacuo got wiped out a couple days ago."

"The Junipers?"

"Probably. The whole place was flattened."

"Which town was it?"

"Hinan."

_Hinan? Why does that name ring a- Oh._ "Shit," he said bluntly.

"I know the boss did some business with someone there, so I figured she'd want to know."

"Yeah, we loaned a few I.D. setups to a contact in Hinan a while back. Damn, Yang's gonna be livid. You're sure that was the name of the town?"

"Yeah. Heard it from a few different sources."

"Shit," he repeated. "I'm gonna have to make a few calls. Get some people down there to-"

Junior was interrupted by the sound of men shouting and laughing. It came from the bar. He and Miltia quickly exited the office, and found the source. The group of inebriated men from earlier had apparently well exceeded their tolerance for alcohol, and had decided to pick a fight with the man Junior had been chatting with at the bar. The group was standing around him, heckling and badgering him in slurred stupors.

Junior accosted them from the office doorway: "Alright, guys. You've had enough. It's time to go."

The largest of the group turned to Junior, his face red with intoxication. "We're not leavin' _shit_, you big sack of _meat_."

"I'm not asking. You start shit with my customers, you're out. So get out."

The large man began stumbling slowly towards Junior, his eyes wide with drunken rage. His words were nearly incomprehensible. "_We_ are Conclave peacekeepers, _bud-dy_. And _we_ don' take orders from _no-one_, you got that? I could 'ave this whole fukken' _place_ shut down if I wunn-ed. That _jagoff_ over there is a fukken _monkey_, and we are _queshunning_ him on susspisshuns of being White Fang. So _fuck off_." With that, the man turned around and walked back to his group, who were still harassing the man at the bar.

Junior turned to Miltia standing behind him and said, "Get 'em out of here, will you?"

Miltia and Melanie Malachite were petite girls, by appearance. But their dainty figures and apathetic demeanors hid two very strong, violent women underneath. They were _more_ than capable of ejecting these six fully-grown men from the bar without breaking a sweat, which is why Junior was flabbergasted at Miltia's response.

"No thanks."

"...Excuse me? What do you mean _'no thanks_'?"

"I'm not bringing the Conclave down on _my_ head. Sorry."

_She won't bounce these guys because they're peacekeepers? What the fuck do we pay her for?_

He turned to Melanie who was still standing behind the bar. He gestured forcefully at the group of drunken men with his hands, then gestured again toward the front door. His eyes seemed to say, "Will you please do your job?"

"We don't lay hands on peacekeepers," she replied dully.

The alpha drunk of the group had been watching this exchange, and was smiling at Junior triumphantly.

"_I do_," said a woman's voice from the back of the room.

_Well, shit,_ thought Junior as he pulled Miltia back into the office with him.

The large, intoxicated man turned his head abruptly to find the source of the voice, just in time to receive a burning red fist directly in the center of his face. The impact sent the man soaring over three tables and into a fourth in the corner of the room. He slumped to the floor unconscious. His intoxicated underlings stared at their fallen leader for a few moments, and then whirled around to look at his assailant.

Yang Xiao Long's eyes were blood red, her thick blonde hair was glowing brightly, and her clenched fists were quite literally on fire. When she spoke, her voice took on a quiet, yet frenetic tone. "Well, you better go pick him up. If he bleeds on my floor, _then you're all gonna bleed on my floor_."

They raced over to his limp body and began dragging him towards the door by his hands and feet. Apparently motivated by artificial courage, one of his comrades turned to the terrifying woman and shouted, "When we report this, you're all _fucked_!"

Yang approached him menacingly. "I fucking _dare_ you to run your mouth to that pussy sergeant of yours. I could bury your whole goddamn _precinct_ under the mountain of _dirt_ I've got on you assholes."

The man's eyes widened as she walked towards him, her hands still glowing red with heat.

"You tell Winchester this when he wakes up: If I ever catch wind that one of you pieces of trash even _thinks_ about this place again, I'll tear all your fucking _minds_ out, do you understand?"

The group responded by exiting the building as quickly as possible, dragging their unconscious leader behind them.

She screamed after them, "And get that dumbass some aloe vera! He's gonna be sunburnt for _weeks_!"

When they were out of sight, Yang closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She held her breath for several seconds as her hair and hands stopped glowing. She exhaled and opened her eyes, which were now a soft lilac in color. She smoothed out her black mini-skirt and readjusted her low-cut, golden yellow sweater. She almost looked calm.

Junior poked his head out of the office doorway and said, "That was a little excessive, don't you think?"

Yang smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Nah. Just wanted to scare 'em a little."

"You know we don't have _that_ much dirt on the local peacekeepers, right?"

"Well _those_ idiots don't know that. They'll keep their mouths shut and never step foot in here again. Win-win, right?" She gave a double thumbs-up, oozing with smugness.

Junior stared at her with a confused look. "You were in a really shitty mood earlier today. Why are you so... I don't know... gleeful?"

"I got to knock out an arrogant asshole and scare the shit out of his dumb little friends, and on top of _that_, they were all Conclave! I'd say that calls for a grin or two, wouldn't you?"

Junior sighed and said, "Well, since you're feeling so _cheerful_ at the moment, there are a couple of things that need your attention." He walked back into the small office, and Yang followed. He once again shut the door and pulled out the envelope Ruby had delivered. "The shopkeep over by the docks finally sent us these. Ruby brought them in earlier."

Yang took the envelope and tore the end open. She emptied the contents – eight silver keys – into her open hand. "Good. I've got some strays from Mistral that need a place to lay low for a while. This is perfect timing," she said, and then abruptly changed the subject. "Why didn't she drop in? Did you tell her I was upstairs?" she said distractedly as she picked up a key and held it to the light.

"I did, but she was in a hurry to get to the market or something. You know how she is."

"Was her friend with her?"

"You mean Penny? No, but they were apparently on the phone the entire time we were talking."

"Yeah, she's been all buddy-buddy with that girl for a few months now. I mean, they're already living together, but she still hasn't introduced us. It's really sketchy. Do you think it's sketchy? I'm kinda sketched." Her brow was creased with worry.

Junior reassured her, "I don't think it's sketchy. I think maybe Ruby is afraid that her big sister might not like her new friend. And she knows what can happen when Yang doesn't like someone."

"Well dammit, what if she's some kinda moocher, leeching money and stuff off my sister? Or- or what if she's like, I don't know... a psycho-killer or something? _Oh man is she going to eat my little sister!?_"

"Jeez, Yang. Calm down. You know she's smarter than that. She's leagues smarter than _you_, anyway."

Yang stopped hyperventilating and eyed Junior indignantly. "That may be the case, but she's still my sister, so I'm allowed to worry about her," she said with a pout.

"No argument there. Just give her time, boss. She'll come around."

"Fine, but the next time she stops by, make her come up and at least say 'hi' or something."

"Will do. Now, moving on, there's something else we need to talk about."

"And what's that?"

Junior's face took on a forlorn expression. "Mil caught wind of a rumor earlier today. It's pretty big."

Yang's anxiety returned. "Oh?"

He hesitated for a few seconds. "The Junipers showed up in Hinan a few days ago. The town's gone."

Yang merely stared at Junior in silence. After a few seconds, her eyes began darting side to side, as if searching for a reply. She finally responded, "You're _positive_ it was Hinan?"

"Mil's sources have always been legit. I'm sorry. I know you had a couple of friends-"

"Did anyone make it out?" interjected Yang, a slight tremble in her voice.

"We don't know."

"Tell Mil to get back out there and find out everything she can. We need to know if we're going to have an influx of refugees in the coming weeks. And send someone to Hinan to salvage what they can of our equipment. Steal a bullhead, launch a fucking rocket, send _Ruby_ if you have to; we need _answers_." She was becoming more and more frantic.

Junior tried to calm her down. "Okay, it's okay. I'll take care of it. I will send as many people as it takes. I will take _care_ of it."

Yang was nearly in tears. She spoke through her hands, which were covering her face. "All those people..."

"Go back upstairs. I'll make a few calls and give you an update _tomorrow_. Go to bed."

Yang only nodded in response, and made her way out of the office. She caught the door before it closed, and turned to Junior. "Xiong, do you think-" she started.

Junior answered her question before she could ask it: "She's a smart woman, Yang. I'm sure she made it out just fine." He tried to sound as reassuring as possible.

She looked at him for a few seconds, then replied, "Thanks," and left the room, returning to her upstairs apartment.

Junior sat alone in the office with his thoughts.

_Of course she made it out. She's too damn smart to stick around and let herself get killed..._

_Right?_

* * *

_Meanwhile, a continent away..._

"HQ, this is Recon-Two, We're just now passing over Hinan."

"First impressions?"

"It was definitely the Valkyrie girl. The damage is too complete, and there are impact craters everywhere. She didn't leave anything standing."

"She never does. Go ahead and start a wide area scan."

"Commencing."

"..."

"There's... nothing. No signs of life. No heat signatures, no movement. Nothing."

"That's to be expected. Do another pass to confirm."

"Copy that. Commencing second scan."

"..."

"Negative life signs confirmed. Moving to aerial imaging. I'll contact you when-"

"Another scan, Recon-Two. Broaden it this time."

"Sir?"

"Call it a hunch."

"...Yes sir."

"..."

"I... I'm picking up something."

"Details, Recon-Two."

"It's very faint, but I'm reading a heat signature outside of the town itself. It's coming from... a tree?"

"Investigate. Quickly."

"Already on my way."

"..."

"It's... it's a woman. HQ, there's a woman down there, sitting against the tree. Wait, no... she's got cuffs on her hands and feet, and she's been chained to the damned thing! Did they just _leave_ her here like this to _die_?"

"Get her in the ship and get back here ASAP, Recon-Two. She may be the only survivor. Do _not_ lose her."

The small scout ship quickly descended toward the hill outside of town. It was still well over forty meters above ground when the young woman calling herself Recon-Two leapt out of the side hatch and fell toward the earth. Just before impacting the ground, she drew a long silver rapier from her belt and thrust it downward. At its tip appeared a large glowing rune made of white light, which the girl deftly used to alter the angle and velocity of her fall. A second later, she hit the ground running, and made her way quickly to the top of the hill where the tree stood.

When she arrived, she immediately slashed at the chain which was pinning the raven-haired girl to the tree. The section of chain froze solid, and then shattered. It fell loosely to the ground, and the freed girl began to topple over. Her white-haired savior dropped to her knees and caught the girl before she hit the ground, cradling her head and torso in her arms. She used her sword to break the cuffs around the girl's wrists and ankles in a similar fashion, then began to assess her injuries.

Her face was swollen and badly bruised on one side, and her lips were cracked and bleeding from dehydration. Her long white sleeves were torn and stained with blood. One of her shoulders was completely dislocated. Her right leg was wrapped in a large, blood-soaked bandage, and her left knee was misshapen and swollen. Her wrists, arms, and ankles were rubbed raw and caked with more dried blood, most likely from her struggling against the restraints. Most noticeable, however, was the yellow prisoner I.D. tag hanging from her left cat-ear.

Her eyes were closed, but she had a faint pulse.

"Can you hear me? Are you awake? I need you to try to move, okay?"

Slowly, the faunus girl's eyes opened, revealing two bright yellow irises. The young woman cradling her head was briefly taken aback by their brilliance.

"I'm here to help you. You're very badly hurt. Can you tell me your name?"

"...N- name..." the girl spoke, her voice crackling with dryness.

"Yes, your name," her liberator replied. "My name is Weiss, can you tell me yours?"

"Blake. It's Blake."

"It's very nice to meet you, Blake. I'm going to pick you up now, okay? It's going to hurt quite a bit, but I have to take you away from here and get you medical treatment."

As Weiss spoke, she slid one arm under Blake's back, placed the other under her knees, and lifted her off the ground. Blake let out a raspy, painful scream and wrapped her arms weakly around the back of Weiss's neck, burrowing her face into the young woman's shoulder. Weiss carried her to the waiting dropship, which had touched down nearby seconds ago. She lifted Blake into the ship through the side hatch, where two crew members in flight suits retrieved her and laid her carefully into a stretcher, preparing her for the flight.

Weiss hopped up into the ship and ordered the pilot to take off. Once they were in the air, she closed the hatch and went to check on Blake. She knelt down beside the stretcher and looked into the young woman's yellow eyes again. She spoke to her with a soft, reassuring voice: "It's going to be okay. You're safe now. You can rest."

Blake returned her gaze and feebly asked, "W- where are you taking me? Where are we going?"

Weiss smiled comfortingly and replied, "We're going to the safest place on Remnant. A place not even the Conclave can find. We're going to Beacon."


	6. Velocity (ARC 2: MOVEMENT)

**AUTHOR NOTE:**

**Hi there! If you're new to this humble little tale, thanks for reading. Give it a fav and a follow if you like it.**

**If you're already a follower, then I apologize for the delayed posting of this chapter. I recently moved my family across the state _and_ started a whole new career, the training for which has eaten up most of my time these last few weeks.**

**As a result, I'm going to stop trying to post a chapter every week, and dial it back to a chapter every _two_ weeks. This gives me more time to write the story I want to write, instead of forcing me to rush through it and post utter shit. Once I get into the swing of this new job, I'll have more time to write, so I may eventually go back to posting once a week. ****Thanks for understanding.**

**Share _Aegis_ with your friends if you like it! I have a ton of ideas for this story that I can't wait to share with you folks. I'm excited.**

**Thanks again for reading!**

**-rubik**

**And now, without further ado, let's find out what Ruby and Penny are up to...**

* * *

**ARC 2: MOVEMENT**

* * *

Chapter 6: Velocity

"See you later, Mr. Xiong!"

Ruby Rose dashed down the long alleyway, leaving her sister's bartender standing in the open rear doorway of the Little Dragon. She slipped around the corner less than a second later, then resumed walking at an average, less-than-superhuman pace. She made her way north, away from the bustling nightlife of downtown Vale. The apartment she shared with Penny was located in the city's industrial district. It was by no means the safest place for a young woman to live; the region was notorious for its gang presence. Fortunately, Ruby had plenty of experience dealing with thugs who got a little too grabby. She'd even heard rumors that a couple of the area's gangs had standing orders to avoid her whenever possible. That didn't stop them from occasionally accosting her from alleyways and the windows of vehicles, but the number of attempted muggings had decreased somewhat.

As she walked down the dimly lit street, Ruby's thoughts turned to the mundane task ahead of her: grocery shopping.

"Ugh," she grumbled into the small microphone around her throat, "I _hate_ shopping. Do I really have to go by the market tonight? We've got food at home."

"Technically, you are correct," came the response through her wireless earpiece. "Cookies and leftover pizza do qualify as 'food'. However, I do not believe the nutritional value of these items will be sufficient to-"

"_Okay_, Penny. I get it. I need to eat healthier. Cooking is just so much _work_," she groaned.

"But the results are outstanding! I have researched many hours of cooking programs. I will help you prepare the most delightful meals!" Penny responded gleefully.

"Exactly how many cooking shows did you-"

"Eight-hundred, ninety-one hours."

"..."

"I will send a shopping list to your scroll! This is so exciting!"

"Will my scroll even have enough storage space to hold this shopping list of yours?"

"Umm... I may need to back up some files to your desktop here at home."

"_Wait, what?"_

"Ha! That was a joke!"

Penny giggled incessantly at her attempt at humor while Ruby could only sigh and smile as she turned another street corner, nearing the market. Ruby's work as a courier usually meant inconsistent hours. Luckily, there was a store near her apartment that stayed open late into the evening, catering to the many night owls that lived and worked in Vale's industrial district. It wasn't a supermarket by any means, but it always had a large stock of food and basic necessities, which was plenty enough to satisfy the workers in the area.

Ruby entered the front door of the market and picked up a large yellow shopping basket. She walked up and down the aisles of the store, smiling and chatting with Penny as she added various foodstuffs to the basket. The growing collection of produce and raw meats was beginning to intimidate the young woman.

"Are you sure this isn't going to be a lot of work?" she asked. "When I was a kid, Yang would always cook for us, and I remember thinking it looked like way too much work."

"Maintaining a balanced diet does take some work, but the results are more than worth the effort."

"I guess you're right."

"...Ruby?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"Why are you avoiding your sister?" Penny's tone wasn't accusatory, merely curious.

"What? Why would I do that, Penny?"

"I do not know, and that is why I am asking."

"Well, I had to buy food before the market closes, so I didn't have time to hang out. That's all."

"I am not just referring to tonight. It has been twenty-two days, four hours, and twenty-three minutes since you last spoke to Yang."

"Well, it's like I told Mr. Xiong back at the bar. Yang's been really busy lately setting up homeless faunus with apartments and jobs and stuff. She's working hard to help a lot of people, and I don't want to distract her, that's all." She sounded like she wanted to drop the subject, but Penny pressed her further.

"But she is your sister. Mr. Xiong himself said that she would be happy to see you."

"I know he said that, but it's more complicated-"

"Are you ashamed of me?"

Ruby stopped still in the middle of the market, speechless. Of _course_ she wasn't ashamed of Penny. What stopped her was the idea that _Penny_ might think she was somehow a source of embarrassment for Ruby.

"Absolutely not, Penny. I love you. You know that."

"And I love you too, Ruby. I am simply unsure as to why you have not yet formally introduced Yang and I."

Ruby pondered this for a moment, then replied, "Ever since all this stuff with the Conclave happened, Yang started getting really paranoid of everyone she meets. I mean, the only people who even know her real name are you and I, Xiong and the twins, and this faunus girl who helps refugees over in Vacuo. And even she doesn't know what Yang actually looks like. If Yang were to meet you, I'm really not sure what her reaction would be."

"Because I am not a real girl?"

Ruby winced at the question, and quickly responded, "First of all, you are most _definitely_ a real girl. You're just not... an _average_ girl. You're different from every other girl in the world, and that's why you're special, and it's why I love you so much. But it's _how_ you're special that would make Yang so suspicious of you."

"...I think I understand. Since you are her younger sister, she wants to make sure the people you associate with can be trusted."

"Exactly," Ruby said with relief.

"Yang must care a great deal for you, to be that protective."

"She really does."

"Well," Penny exclaimed after a few seconds of silence, "if she cares that much about you, then she is obviously a splendid person, and I cannot wait to meet her. But I understand your reasons for waiting to introduce us, and I am willing to wait as well, if that is what you think is best."

Ruby smiled and replied, "Thanks, Penny. I appreciate it."

Her companion's fears eased, Ruby resumed her grocery shopping. By the time everything on her list was accounted for, her basket was nearly overflowing. She lugged it to the checkout and hoisted it onto the counter, where the old shopkeeper began tallying up prices and stuffing large paper bags with her groceries. "Trying our hand at cooking tonight, Ruby?" he asked politely.

"Yeah," she replied, sighing. "_Apparently_ I eat too much junk food, so Penny's making me buy all this stuff so I don't die of malnutrition or whatever." She smiled and set her elbow on the checkout counter with a _thud_, resting her head idly in her hand. As Ruby gazed absentmindedly out the front doorway, she saw a woman in an oversized coat running down the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street, followed a few meters behind by a group of men who were wielding various blunt weapons and shouting obscenities at her.

"Well _that_ doesn't look good." Ruby said as she moved quickly toward the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes, okay? Sorry!" she said over her shoulder. The shopkeeper simply nodded and continued placing cabbages and onions into bags. Ruby dashed out into the street just in time to see the last few blue-clad gang members disappear around the building across the street. She ran after them, speaking quietly.

"Penny?"

"Just a moment... I am accessing local CCTV equipment. The woman is a faunus, and there are currently nine men pursuing her. Their paraphernalia suggests they are all members of the local Streethawks gang."

"Any serious weapons like guns or knives?"

"I do not believe so, but the cameras in this area are substandard. It is difficult to tell. Proceed with caution."

Ruby smiled. "_Pshhht_. Come on, there are only nine of 'em."

"And you are unarmed. You left Crescent Rose here at home today, remember?"

"Oh. Well, I guess I'll just have to work fast, huh?" she replied confidently as she rounded the corner of the building. The pursuit had taken the group of men quite a distance down the street, and Ruby would need to move quickly to catch up.

"Alright, I'm gonna take out the two in back with a flying drop kick, then bulldog the next one!" She was almost giddy with excitement.

"I do not know what that means, Ruby. Please just be careful."

Ruby planted her left foot on the ground behind her and leaned far forward, bending her right knee until she was nearly horizontal. She placed both hands on the sidewalk and took a deep breath, focusing on the group of men who were now nearly two blocks in front of her. As she pushed off the ground, she activated her unique semblance. The space around her seemed to warp, as if compressed by some outside force. An instant later, she was gone.

To put it simply, Ruby Rose could move as fast as she wanted. She had conditioned her body to withstand a moderate amount of punishment; however, basic rules of physics would show that accelerating to such high speeds in such a brief amount of time would have torn her body apart. So, in true Ruby fashion, she simply ignored the rules.

Ruby's semblance warped space in a way that allowed her to move in a separate physical frame of reference. When she activated it, the space between her and her destination became highly compressed, but only to her. While traveling through this compressed space, it would seem to an outside observer as if she were moving at an impossibly high speed, when in fact she was moving at a normal speed, just in a smaller frame of reference. She was able to break the laws of physics even further by maintaining her increased velocity, even after reaching her unwarped destination.

Ruby fully understood the complex physical science behind her ability, and had once tried to explain it to her sister. The conversation was expectedly short:

"...Uh, compressed what now?"

"I can go really fast."

"Oooo, neat!"

From then on, new acquaintances of Ruby's were treated to this simplified interpretation of her abilities. For cases like the nine men currently in her crosshairs, however, she had developed an even more abridged explanation, involving much less conversation and a great deal more pain.

As Ruby warped forward at an outrageous speed, she decided to begin the night's cram session with an impromptu lesson on momentum. She exited her warp space feet first, and the two unfortunate men in the rear of the group were the first to receive her tutelage, in the form of a flying kick to the back of their heads. The impact caused her to decelerate, but she had enough momentum to carry her forward to her next oblivious student, who suffered a brief lecture on gravity. She wrapped her arm around his head as she flew past him, and introduced his face to the sidewalk a moment later. The sounds of the three men hitting the ground drew the attention of the rest of their posse. When the six remaining thugs spun around to investigate, they were treated to the unusual sight of a petite, skirt-wearing young woman standing amongst the unconscious bodies of their comrades. She was smiling, and twiddling her fingers bashfully.

"So, uh... do you guys watch wrestling?"

The dumbfounded men merely stared at her, unable to comprehend the scene before them.

Penny spoke worriedly into her ear: "Ruby, you do know that those professional wrestling matches you watch are not instructional vid-"

"_Clothesline!_" interjected Ruby as she warped forward again with both deceptively strong arms extended to her sides. Her attack connected with two of the gang members' chests, knocking the wind completely out of them and sending them sprawling to the ground, gasping for air. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she warped again and appeared on the opposite side of her targets, placing herself between the group and the faunus they had been pursuing. Ruby used the brief moment of confusion to address the woman directly.

"Hi there! Did these guys hurt you?"

The woman's eyes were full of fear and confusion, but she managed to shake her head 'no' in response.

"Good. Just hang tight for a minute, okay?"

Ruby turned around to face the group of men, whose numbers she'd halved in mere seconds. Their teeth were clenched in a combination of rage and terror, but they didn't dare approach her. The smallest of the four, a young man with a light green mohawk, held a curved dagger in each hand. He stepped forward and confronted her in a weak attempt at intimidation. "We're gonna make you pay for that!" he shouted, his voice cracking and trembling.

"I doubt it," she replied. "But if you wanna try, be my guest. Or you could take this opportunity to run away. I won't stop you."

The four men glanced at each other briefly, but showed no intentions of fleeing the scene. Ruby shook her head. "Alright. If that's the way you want it," she said with a sigh. After a few tense seconds of stare-downs, Ruby broke the silence.

"_Leg sweep!_" she exclaimed, and warped toward her targets. Mohawk used the announcement to his advantage and immediately jumped into the air, anticipating the coming attack. Unfortunately for him, Ruby had no intention of executing said leg sweep. Instead, she reappeared in the air directly in front of him, her body parallel to the ground. Before he could even register her presence, she plowed into his abdomen fists-first, launching him backwards into one of his cronies. She leapt back away from the duo as they fell to the ground, where Mohawk proceeded to empty the contents of his stomach onto the sidewalk. He curled into a fetal position and struggled to catch his breath.

"I lied," said Ruby bluntly. "I think that one's called a _spear_."

One of the two uninjured men began to lift his fallen leader off the ground and said, "Let's get out of here, Russell. I think that's the hooded chick the boss told us about." The remaining gang members took his advice, and began gathering up their unconscious colleagues. They managed to rouse the two men Ruby had clotheslined, and together the six of them picked up the remaining three, who had not yet recovered from Ruby's crash course in physics. They retreated into a nearby alleyway, disappearing into the night.

"Bye, guys! Let's do this again sometime!" she called after them, giggling.

Once they were out of sight, Ruby turned her attention to the faunus woman cowering on the sidewalk. She had tripped and fallen to the ground just before Ruby arrived on the scene. When Ruby approached her and offered her a hand, she recoiled in fear.

"Are you a peacekeeper?" the young woman asked.

Ruby snickered and replied, "No, ma'am. But I do what I can to keep the peace." She made a 'V' with two fingers and smiled widely, attempting to assuage the woman's suspicions. "My name is Ruby."

"I- I'm Velvet."

"It's very nice to meet you, Velvet." She once again offered her hand in assistance, which Velvet now accepted. Ruby helped the faunus to her feet and gave her a quick once-over. Not counting her tall rabbit ears, she was only a few inches taller than Ruby. She was wearing a long trench coat which showed intense signs of wear and tear; it was covered in patches of various colors, sewn into the fabric with coarse threads. Her feet were swallowed whole by a pair of heavy brown boots, obviously many sizes too large for the woman's feet.

Through Ruby's earpiece, Penny said, "She may need medical attention."

"Are you hurt?" asked Ruby.

"Not really. I skinned my knee a little when I fell, but it's nothing my aura can't fix in a few minutes," the young woman replied.

"Do you live nearby?"

Velvet clammed up at this question and stammered, "...No. I- I'm not from around here."

Ruby had enough experience with the Conclave to know exactly what the faunus woman meant by this statement. Velvet must have escaped from one of the smaller towns that was swept up in a raid. She'd been displaced from her home by the Conclave's senseless campaign against the White Fang, and ended up in Vale, taking whatever handouts were offered to her. Ruby clenched her fists as anger welled up inside of her. Whatever the government _thought_ it was accomplishing, it wasn't worth the number of innocent people ending up in situations like this. She released her frustration in a huff and spoke into the small microphone encircling her throat, "Hey Penny, would you give the Little Dragon a call for me? Tell Mr. Xiong we've got a stray that needs a place to rest for a few nights. Have him send Mil over to our place to pick her up, just to be safe."

"Certainly. I will call you right back."

Velvet listened in shock, and then began to protest, "Wait, what are you- I couldn't possibly- I- I don't have any money to pay for-"

Ruby turned to the stunned woman and interjected, "You don't need any money. My sister does this kind of thing for free. My place is only a few blocks away; we can talk on the way there, if you want."

The young faunus woman didn't know how to respond, so she merely nodded her head and began walking down the street alongside Ruby. They strolled along the sidewalk without speaking, until Velvet broke the silence.

"Oh dear! I forgot to thank you for saving me! I'm sorry..."

"You are _quite_ welcome, Velvet. I'm just glad I was in the neighborhood."

"Right. Me too."

"..."

"So what's going to happen to me? What does your sister _do_ exactly?" Velvet's brow creased slightly. She looked worried, as if the answer might not be pleasant to hear.

Ruby noticed her expression, and was quick to dispel any distasteful scenarios the faunus may have been envisioning. "Oh, don't worry. It's nothing indecent or anything like that, I swear. Miltia is going to come pick you up and take you to the Little Dragon. It's a bar my sister owns downtown. When you get there, she'll have Melanie give you a quick medical check-up, if you're comfortable with it. Mr. Xiong will make sure you get some good food, and then my sister will put you up in a little apartment above the bar for a couple of nights to rest and recover. Then, when you're up for it, she'll work with you to find a more permanent place to live and a job here in the city, if you want them."

"That's unreal. I don't even- how could I possibly pay for all this?"

"Like I said, you won't. Not directly, anyway. My sister runs a huge network of businesses in Vale. Shops, factories, residential buildings, so on and so forth. She's got her hands in pretty much every industry you can think of. The job she finds for you will be in one of the businesses she owns."

"This... is unbelievable. You and your sister are _humans_. Why would you go to so much trouble to help me? You don't even _know_ me, but you're already making plans to give me food, and an apartment, and even a _job_." Velvet's tone was growing more skeptical by the second. "It was _humans_ who took my home away from me, and now _humans_ are offering me a new life? I really want to believe what you're telling me is the truth, but how do I know this isn't some kind of slave ring or something?"

Ruby pondered her doubt-filled companion's question for a few moments, then smiled and said, "I need to stop by the market before we go back to my apartment. You can help me carry my bags!"

Velvet looked confused. It seemed as if Ruby was ignoring her concerns. "Okay, I guess..." she whispered, crossing her arms inside her oversized coat. She remained silent until the two of them reached the market. Ruby pushed open the front door and made her way back to the checkout counter, where the old shopkeeper was waiting for her with four large paper bags filled with groceries. When he saw Velvet enter behind her, he smiled and said, "Well hello, miss. I hope Ruby here didn't frighten you too much. She can be a little overbearing."

"No, sir. She, um... she kind of saved my life," Velvet responded. Curious, she added, "Is Ruby a friend of yours?"

"Ha! That's one way to put it. I owe my life to that sister of hers!"

Velvet was taken aback by the man's response. "Ruby's sister? So then you're..."

The shopkeeper reached up and took hold of the large brown beret on his head. He lifted it up, revealing two furry catlike ears underneath. "Yes, ma'am, and proud of it. I lost my home in a raid about a year ago, and came to Vale. That blonde spitfire over at the Little Dragon took me in off the street and gave me this job. If it weren't for her, I'd probably still be rotting in an alleyway over by the docks. Saved my life, she did."

The faunus woman was once again rendered speechless. She looked at Ruby, bewildered.

"Velvet here is actually heading over to the Little Dragon tonight to meet her!" said Ruby.

"Oh, is she?" the older man replied. He scrutinized Velvet for a few seconds, then walked around the end of the counter and approached her. He bent over slightly, bringing himself to eye-level with the young woman. His face took on a warm, caring expression. "Which town?" he asked quietly.

Velvet gazed back at the man as tears began to surface in her eyes. "Fell. I'm from... Fell."

The older faunus nodded his head, then placed his hands on her shoulders. He spoke to her slowly and solemnly: "Promise me something, Velvet from Fell. Never forget that town. Never forget the sights, the sounds, or even the smells. Keep those memories fresh in your mind every day, no matter how much it hurts. As long we do that, then our homes will never truly be gone. Do you understand? We have to remember."

Tears were now streaming down the young woman's face. Unable to control her emotions any longer, Velvet wrapped her arms around the taller man's torso and opened the floodgates. She buried her face in the man's green grocer's apron and wept, while he placed a comforting hand on her head.

As Velvet purged herself of long-suppressed sorrow, Ruby quietly stepped out, allowing the two faunus to mourn their respective losses in privacy. As she pushed through the front door of the market and stepped out onto the lonely sidewalk, her earpiece began beeping softly. She pushed the small button on her throat mic and greeted the caller: "Hiya, Penny! Is Mil on her way?"

"Yes. I informed Mr. Xiong of the situation. Miltiades should arrive at our apartment in approximately fifteen minutes."

"Awesome."

"I see you are back at the market. How is Velvet doing?"

"Well, she got really jumpy when I told her about Yang's placement system; I guess she thought it sounded too good to be true. So, I brought her to the market with me to meet the shopkeeper. He told her about everything Yang did to help him, and she got really emotional. I came outside to give her some privacy."

"I cannot imagine what the Conclave must have put her through. It disgusts me, Ruby. I wish there was more we could do to help these people."

"You're not alone there, Penny. But for now all we can do is send them to Yang. She's doing more to help the faunus than anyone else nowadays."

"I suppose you are right."

"Ruby?" said a timid voice from behind her. Ruby turned around and found Velvet standing in the doorway of the market, wiping her reddened eyes on the sleeve of her coat.

"Hey there, Velvet. Are you okay?"

"I think I'll be alright. I'm sorry I was so suspicious of you. It's just been a while since I've been around anyone I can trust."

"I completely understand. You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"Thanks, Ruby. Um... I think I'm ready to help you carry your bags now."

"Perfect! Mil's on her way to my apartment. She'll probably be waiting for us when we get there."

The pair once again walked back indoors to the checkout counter and gathered up the paper bags filled with groceries, two each. As they turned to walk out of the market, the shopkeeper stopped them. "Just a minute!" he said, emerging from the storage room behind the counter. "There's something I'd like you to have, Velvet."

In the old man's hands was a large, dark-brown beret with light brown trim. "This was Hazel's – my wife's – once upon a time. She knit it herself. Notice how the back section here is bigger and more loose? That's where Hazel would stuff her ears when the weather was particularly cold. Yes, she had tall, fluffy ears just like yours, Velvet. Before she passed away, she gave it to our daughter." The old man gripped the beret tightly. "And now, it's the only thing I have left of either of them."

Velvet looked at him, confused. "But, if this is all you have to remind you of your family, I couldn't possibly accept it. Please keep it."

The man gazed back at her, smiling. "That's not the point, young lady. I have my memories. That's all I need. I've been holding on to this for too long, and it's about time I let it go." He stepped forward and placed his hand gently around both of Velvet's tall rabbit-like ears. He slipped the beret over them and tilted it back, lowering it onto her head. With the beret in place, her ears were completely hidden inside the loose brown fabric along the back of the hat. He stepped back and inspected his handiwork. "Would you look at that! Fits perfectly! Now, make sure you wear that whenever you leave your home. Vale will be a much safer place for you if you keep those ears hidden."

Velvet patted her head curiously, readjusting the beret several times before finding a comfortable position for it. She smiled and said, "It's beautiful. Thank you so much. I'll make sure to take good care of it."

"You're welcome, dear." He looked at both the girls and said, "You two have a pleasant evening, and be safe."

"Yes, sir!" said Ruby. She exited the market, with Velvet following close behind. As the faunus stepped through the doorway, she turned around one last time and asked, "Sir? I hope you don't mind my asking, but what was your daughter's name?"

The shopkeeper replied, "I don't mind at all. Come to think of it, you two probably would have gotten along great. Her name was Coco."

Velvet nodded and said, "Coco. What a pretty name!" She turned and walked out into the night, leaving the old faunus alone with his memories.

Velvet caught up with Ruby, and began walking closely beside her. The two young women strolled along in a comfortable silence until Velvet asked, "So, I meant to ask earlier, but who were you talking to after you chased off those thugs?"

"Oh, that's Penny. We live together." She pointed to the microphone at her throat and added, "You can say 'hi' if you want. She'll hear you through the mic."

"Oh, um... hi, Penny."

"Greetings, Velvet. It is very nice to meet you!" came Penny's response from the small speaker in Ruby's backpack.

"It's nice to meet you, too. So, since you're the one who called Ruby's sister, I guess I should thank you, as well."

"Oh, it was no trouble at all. I am glad I could help."

"So the two of you have an apartment together, right? Is that where you are right now, Penny?"

"Yes. Ruby's work as a courier takes her all over the city, but my work is mostly... online, so I stay here and mind the apartment while Ruby is out."

To this, Ruby added, "And apparently she also watches a _ridiculous_ amount of cooking shows."

"I only want to _learn_."

The three young women continued their casual conversation as they walked to Ruby's apartment. Originally, the first three stories of the old building had housed a popular clothing store frequented by the youths in the area. However, when the gangs in the neighborhood became a problem, the company decided it was more trouble than it was worth and pulled their business from the location. Yang seized the opportunity, and purchased the building at a steal. Unfortunately, the layouts of the bottom floors weren't compatible with the types of businesses Yang wanted to establish in the area, so she offered the building's spacious fourth-floor loft apartment to her sister instead.

Ruby gladly accepted the offer. She had been living above the bar with her sister for a while, and was eager to finally have a place of her own, away from the bustle of downtown Vale. Yang had some of her contacts at a home safety company install multiple security systems in the building, and supplied Ruby with all new furniture and state-of-the-art appliances. Ruby had tried to pay her sister back several times, but she always refused, saying, "You can just repay me by keeping an eye on those annoying gangs in the industrial district. If they try to start shit at one of my factories, you just slap 'em around a little. Deal?"

Ruby begrudgingly accepted this arrangement and followed through with her end of the deal, stepping in whenever a group of thugs attempted to steal equipment or materials from one of Yang's many manufacturing plants in the area. It took a few months of Ruby's thrashings before the local gangs started taking the hint: "Stay away from these specific factories and stores unless you want to end up bruised and bloodied at the hands of a hyperactive girl with a giant scythe-gun and a serious martial arts fetish." Nowadays, the gangs were usually too scared of Ruby to even come within a few blocks of any of Yang's businesses. Although she was relieved that the faunus who worked at these locations were much safer without the constant threat of gang raids, Ruby still occasionally found herself itching for a fight, some selfish part of her wishing that a group of thugs would try to rob the market down the street.

When Ruby and Velvet finally arrived at Ruby's apartment building, they found Miltia waiting for them. She was leaning against a metal lamppost and halfheartedly flipping through the pages of a magazine. Parked in the street was an oversized, bright yellow motorcycle with a matching sidecar. Ruby's eyes lit up when she saw her sister's prized sport bike. "Bumblebee!" she squealed as she dropped her grocery bags, dashed forward, and bounced into the sidecar, where she reached into the floorboard and pulled out a black biker's helmet with a dark red rose design painted on the side. She pulled the helmet onto her head giddily and said, "Wow, Mil. I can't believe she let you bring Bumblebee!"

The black-and-red clad woman folded her magazine and replied, "Junior's car is in the shop. Didn't really have a choice." Her apathetic gaze turned to Velvet. With a voice to match her expression, she asked, "Who're you?"

"Um... my name is Velvet. It's nice to meet you, Miltia," replied Velvet timidly. Her eyes were fixed on Miltia's leather jacket, the sleeves of which were each lined with two long narrow blades. The menacing weapons were painted black and red to blend in with the colors of the jacket, but they still gleamed noticeably in the light from the streetlamp. The woman's expressionless face and cold green eyes didn't help to calm Velvet's unease.

Ruby saw the reservation in her friend's face, and quickly jumped out of the sidecar and back onto the sidewalk, right next to Miltia. "Don't worry about Mil here, Velvet. She may look all mean and scary, but that's just her job." She leaned over, threw her arms around the petite woman's shoulders, and added, "She's actually really sweet and cuddly, _riiiiight Miiiiiltiaaaa_?" Ruby rubbed her cheek playfully against Miltia's, clearly trying to draw a reaction out of her. The dangerous-looking woman patiently endured Ruby's mock adoration for a small while, until she pointed toward the motorcycle and once again spoke to Velvet: "Get in. I've got work to do after I drop you off with Mel."

Ruby freed Miltia from her affectionate death-grip and asked, "Really? Not bouncing any creeps from the bar tonight?"

"No. Some drunk peacekeepers were causing problems earlier, but your sister took care of it." A rare grin briefly appeared on her lips. "It was... entertaining."

"It seems you and your sister enjoy similar hobbies, Ruby," said Velvet with a smile.

"Ha! Yeah, I guess you're right," replied Ruby as she took off her helmet and handed it to the faunus. "Here you go, people say I have a giant head, so this should have plenty of room for your ears."

Velvet removed the large brown beret from her head and replaced it with Ruby's helmet. Ruby helped her adjust the chin-strap, and then walked with her to the sidecar. Before climbing in, Velvet turned around abruptly and wrapped Ruby in a warm embrace. "Thank you so much, Ruby. And Penny, too. Thank you both for everything. I'll never be able to repay you for this. Thank you." She hugged Ruby tightly for over a minute, nearly in tears once again.

"You don't owe us a thing, Velvet. Just let us know when you find a place to live, and we'll take a day or two off to help you get settled in."

"Oh, that sounds like a splendid idea!" Penny chimed in. "We can come cook dinner for you!"

Velvet giggled as she broke the hug and said, "Or I could cook for _you_ two. I worked in a kitchen for most of my life. It would be nice to get back into cooking."

Ruby's eyes once again widened with excitement. "Make sure you tell my sister that! She owns a bunch of restaurants. I'm sure she could find a place for you in one of the fancier ones!"

"I'll make sure to mention that, then." The young faunus woman climbed into the yellow sidecar as her green-eyed chaperone mounted the bike.

Miltia placed a bright yellow biker helmet over her head, and then turned to Ruby. "By the way, Junior wants you to clear your schedule for the next few days. He may need you to make a trip out of town."

"Out of town?" Ruby asked curiously. "What for?"

"He told me not to say anything specific. Just call the bar tomorrow after lunch and he'll give you the details."

"Alright, then." She backed away from the street as the motorcycle roared to life. She grinned widely and waved to Velvet, who returned both gestures as the bike accelerated. A few seconds later, the pair disappeared around the corner of the building, leaving Ruby standing alone on the sidewalk in front of her building.

"Penny," said Ruby wistfully, "I think we just made a new friend."

* * *

Penny watched the yellow motorcycle turn the street corner using the discreet security cameras mounted on the exterior of the building. She then began accessing the city's network of CCTV cameras like before, following Miltia and Velvet as they traveled through the industrial district. She created a temporary subroutine that would continue this surveillance until the two women safely reached the Little Dragon. Should they encounter any trouble, this subroutine would instantly notify both Ruby and Junior of their location. Penny was confident that they wouldn't have any issues, but it only took a miniscule amount of her cumulative processing power to keep track of them. Better safe than sorry.

_**Because I am not a real girl?**_

"What a night," she heard Ruby say with a sigh.

"Indeed. It has been quite interesting," agreed Penny. She watched as Ruby picked up all four paper grocery bags and stumbled towards the front door of the building, trying not to drop her precious cargo.

"Door please," said Ruby stiffly.

Penny reached out with her mind, navigating through the dense code which comprised the building's extensive security system. She strolled through complex logic gates and password-protected firewalls with ease. She located the block of programming that controlled the locks and opening mechanisms of the building's front door, then used her virtual influence to make a few small changes to the code. A few zeroes and ones were flipped, a "true" became a "false", and a few lines were even deleted altogether. Milliseconds after Ruby's request, the locks were released and the door opened on its own.

_**You are most **_**definitely****_ a real girl._**

Once Ruby was inside the building, Penny once again inserted her digital self into the door's programming, restoring the code to its original form. The door dutifully swung shut and reengaged its heavy locks. When Ruby entered the large service elevator at the end of the hallway, Penny once more pushed her way through a series of do-loops and if-thens until she found the code which would lift it to the fourth-floor apartment. The system responded to her polite request instantaneously.

_**You're just not... an **_**average****_ girl_.**

As the elevator ascended at a leisurely pace, Ruby set her grocery bags on the floor. She removed her earpiece and microphone, and placed them into her backpack. She then began removing articles of clothing, starting with her blood-red hooded cape and her black, red-laced boots. She sighed with relief as the cool air rushed over her bare feet. Her long day of deliveries had apparently taken its toll; she seemed glad to finally be able to let her feet breathe. As the elevator approached its destination, she continued to disrobe, removing the black jumper which ended in a red-lined skirt and her tight black leggings which accentuated her slim legs.

"I suppose you will be taking a bath before dinner, then?" Penny's voice emanated from the speaker in Ruby's backpack. She had been watching Ruby through the small camera in the corner of the elevator.

_**You're different from every other girl in the world...**_

"No way," replied Ruby as she lifted her long-sleeved gray shirt above her head and tossed it to the floor. "I'm starving! We're gonna start making dinner as soon as I get into my pee-jays!"

Penny giggled. "Then I will preheat the oven."

_**...and that's why you're special...**_

By the time the elevator reached the apartment, Ruby had stripped completely down to her underwear: a simple pink bra with matching boyshorts. She gathered up her groceries and stepped out of the elevator, into the small entryway. She made her way down a short hallway and turned the corner, entering the kitchen. She hurriedly set down the bags and dashed out of the kitchen to find some clothes.

Against the far wall of the living room was a large computer desk, on which sat a keyboard and mouse, and two flat-screen monitors. Mounted on the wall above the desk was a large number of smaller monitors which displayed live feeds of areas in and around the building. Beside the desk sat three computer towers. The first two were powerful setups with cables running to and from the various monitors on the wall. These served as the nerve center of the building's security system, which allowed the two women to keep tabs on the neighborhood.

The third tower, although identical in appearance, served a much different purpose. Unlike its visually identical companions, it was not utilized to run the building's security software, or its electronic systems. Instead, it held a secret that very few people in the world knew existed. In fact, if the Conclave ever discovered this experimental piece of hardware – and more importantly, the highly illegal systems contained within it – then broken liquor bottles and loud-mouthed thugs would be the absolute least of Ruby's concerns.

After all, this third tower housed the world's first – and only – completely sapient artificial intelligence, capable of independent thought and genuine emotion.

_**...and it's why I love you so much.**_

The third tower was Penny.


End file.
